Medical Terminology Daily (MTD) is a blog sponsored by Clinical Anatomy Associates, Inc. as a service to the medical community. We post anatomical, medical or surgical terms, their meaning and usage, as well as biographical notes on anatomists, surgeons, and researchers through the ages. Be warned that some of the images used depict human anatomical specimens.
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Georg Eduard Von Rindfleisch
(1836 – 1908)
German pathologist and histologist of Bavarian nobility ancestry. Rindfleisch studied medicine in Würzburg, Berlin, and Heidelberg, earning his MD in 1859 with the thesis “De Vasorum Genesi” (on the generation of vessels) under the tutelage of Rudolf Virchow (1821 - 1902). He then continued as a assistant to Virchow in a newly founded institute in Berlin. He then moved to Breslau in 1861 as an assistant to Rudolf Heidenhain (1834–1897), becoming a professor of pathological anatomy. In 1865 he became full professor in Bonn and in 1874 in Würzburg, where a new pathological institute was built according to his design (completed in 1878), where he worked until his retirement in 1906.
He was the first to describe the inflammatory background of multiple sclerosis in 1863, when he noted that demyelinated lesions have in their center small vessels that are surrounded by a leukocyte inflammatory infiltrate.
After extensive investigations, he suspected an infectious origin of tuberculosis - even before Robert Koch's detection of the tuberculosis bacillus in 1892. Rindfleisch 's special achievement is the description of the morphologically conspicuous macrophages in typhoid inflammation. His distinction between myocardial infarction and myocarditis in 1890 is also of lasting importance.
Associated eponyms
"Rindfleisch's folds": Usually a single semilunar fold of the serous surface of the pericardium around the origin of the aorta. Also known as the plica semilunaris aortæ.
"Rindfleisch's cells": Historical (and obsolete) name for eosinophilic leukocytes.
Personal note: G. Rindfleisch’s book “Traité D' Histologie Pathologique” 2nd edition (1873) is now part of my library. This book was translated from German to French by Dr. Frédéric Gross (1844-1927) , Associate Professor of the Medicine Faculty in Nancy, France. The book is dedicated to Dr. Theodore Billroth (1829-1894), an important surgeon whose pioneering work on subtotal gastrectomies paved the way for today’s robotic bariatric surgery. Dr. Miranda.
Sources:
1. "Stedmans Medical Eponyms" Forbis, P.; Bartolucci, SL; 1998 Williams and Wilkins
2. "Rindfleisch, Georg Eduard von (bayerischer Adel?)" Deutsche Biographie
3. "The pathology of multiple sclerosis and its evolution" Lassmann H. (1999) Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 354 (1390): 1635–40.
4. “Traité D' Histologie Pathologique” G.E.
Rindfleisch 2nd Ed (1873) Ballieres et Fils. Paris, Translated by F Gross
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[UPDATED]These three root tems [-hyster-], [-metr-], and [-uter-] refer to the same organ, the [uterus]. There is even a fourth word (not a root term) used to denote the uterus; the matrix. This name originates from the Latin word for "mother".
The word [uterus] and the corresponding root [-uter-] comes from the Latin [uteris] which initially referred to a leather-made water bottle. The use of this term probably originated from the shape of the organ and the fact that during pregnancy it indeed is full of amniotic fluid, called vernacularly "uterine water". The root term [-uter-] can be seen in the words uterine, and uteritis.
The root tem [-metr-] is related to the Greek word [μητέρα] (mit?ra) meaning "mother" and the variation [μήτρα] (mitra) meaning "womb". This root term can be seen in the words endometrium, myometrium, and endometritis.
The root tem [-hyster-] is related to the Greek word [hystera] meaning "womb". This root term can be seen in the words hysterectomy, and hysteria.
Images property of: CAA.Inc. Artist: Dr. E. Miranda
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Left malleus. A. Posterior view, B. Medial view
The word [malleus] is Latin word [malleus] meaning "hammer". It is the name of an ossicle in the middle ear.
The manubrium (handle) of the malleus is attached to the tympanic membrane. The head has a ligament, the superior malleolar ligament, which suspends the malleus in place. The head of the malleus has an articular surface for the incus, which itself articulates with the stapes. Malleus, incus, and stapes are the three ossicles found in the middle ear. This chain of bones allows mechanical transmission of the movement of the tympanic membrane through to the inner ear. At the base of the malleolar manubrium there is a site for attachment of the tensor tympani muscle which tenses and relaxes the tympanic membrane.
The Latin word [malleus] is the base for the root term [-mall-], which we can see in the English words [mallet] and even [malleable], which is used in the sense of "something able to be hammered into shape".
Interesting fact: The word [mall] as in "shopping mall" arises from an old Italian game similar to croquet called [pallamaglio]. [palla] means "ball" and [maglio] (from the Latin malleus) means "hammer". The game was quite popular in England where the word evolved from [pallamaglio] into [paille-maille] and then [pall-mall]. Since the game was played in long alleys and streets, some of these began to be referred as [malls], eventually these streets began to be lined with stores, evolving the term into [Shopping Mall].
Sources:
1 "Tratado de Anatomia Humana" Testut et Latarjet 8 Ed. 1931 Salvat Editores, Spain
2. "Anatomy of the Human Body" Henry Gray 1918. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger
Image modified by CAA, Inc, Original image courtesy of bartleby.com
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Today was the closing ceremony of the 2015 Summer Human Gross Anatomy Course and Laboratory for the Doctorate in Physical Therapy of the Mount Saint Joseph University. Gifts were exchanged and the Silver and Gold Scalpel Award were announced for two of the groups. Congratulations!!
The course professor is my good friend Elizabeth Murrray, Ph.D., D-ABFA, a world-renown forensic anthropologist. I have been adjunct faculty for this course for many years and I love to be able to share my knowledge with the students of this course. Unfortunately, this year my commitments did not allow me to be at the lab as much as I would have liked. Sorry.
To the happy faces in this picture my congratulations for having completed the course. Your cadaver was your first patient and I saw many grieve for the person and the pathologies found, and also saw them be thankful for the gift of their bodies for their learning. Congratulations on finishing this demanding course and my best wishes in your professional and personal lives. Dr. Miranda+
Picture by Prof. Doug Miller.
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The word [malleolus] derives from the Latin word [malleus] meaning "hammer". Malleolus is a diminutive form of "malleus" therefore it mean "little hammer". The plural form of [malleolus] is [malleoli].
The term describes two inferior bony prominences found in the lateral and medial aspect of the ankle, the lateral and medial malleoli.
The medial malleolus is a knobby bony prominence of the tibia. It articulates with the talus bone and has a groove, the malleolar sulcus. The lateral malleolus is a bony prominence of the fibula.
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The [vertebral arch] is one of the components of a typical vertebra. It is a bony arch found posterior to the vertebral body, and it is composed by the pedicles, the vertebral laminae, and the root or base of the articular processes or zygapophyses.
The presence of the vertebral arch defines the vertebral foramen, a space that contains the spinal cord with its meninges, spinal arteries and venous plexuses, and epidural fat. The sum of all the vertebral foramina creates the vertebral canal.
Image property of: CAA.Inc. Photographer: David M. Klein
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The root term [-narc-] is a derived from the Greek [ναρκος] (narkos ), meaning “torpor” or “lethargic”. Initially it was used to denote numbness in an extremity, but eventually evolved to its modern meaning. It is used in medical word such as:
- Narcotic: A group of pharmaceuticals that numbs pain
- Narcosis: The suffix [-osis] means “condition”. A condition of generalized numbness or lethargicness
- Narcolepsy: The suffix [-lepsy]refers to a sudden onset or a seizure. Sudden numbness or lethargicness
Note: The links to Google Translate include an icon that will allow you to hear the pronunciation of the word.