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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Adjectival medical term that means “pertaining to a hospital”. The word is a derivate of the Greek word [νοσοκομείο] (nosokomio) meaning “hospital”. This term is itself composed by two Greek terms: [νόσος] (nosos), meaning “disease” or “injury” and [κομέω], meaning “to take care of”, so the Greek term [νοσοκομείο] means “to take care of a sick person” and the place where you do that is logically, a “hospital”.
This term was later adopted by Roman doctors, giving rise to the Latin term “nosocomium”, from which we derive our English “nosocomial”.
Although we use the term “hospital-acquired infection”, a proper way of saying this is “nosocomial infection”. A synonym for [nosocomial] is [iatrogenic].
Interestingly, the Latin root for “injury”, or [noxa] gave us the Golden Rule of Surgery” “Primum Non Nocere”
Thanks to Sharon L. Mueller, RN for suggesting this article.
Note: The links to Google Translate include an icon that will allow you to hear the Greek or Latin pronunciation of the word.
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Middle cardiac vein
The middle cardiac vein is a vein that runs alongside or parallel to the posterior interventricular artery, also known as the posterior descending artery (PDA).
The middle cardiac vein appears close to the cardiac apex and ascends in the posterior interventricular sulcus (groove) to empty into the coronary sinus. It is responsible for venous drainage of the posterior aspect of the right and left ventricular wall as well as the posterior aspect of the interventricular septum.
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
Original image modified. Image courtesy of bartleby.com
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UPDATED: In both these words the suffix [-osis] means "condition". The root term [-kyph-] is Greek and means "bent or bowed" without an indication of the direction of bending, thus the term was originally used for any abnormal spinal curvature. It was Hippocrates who first used this term to denote "hunchback". Since then the term [kyphosis] denotes a curvature of the spine towards posterior, or better described, a spinal curvature in the median plane with a posterior convexity.
Hippocrated also used the Greek term [lordosis] to denote a curvature opposite to kyphosis. Lordosis is then a spinal curvature in the median plane with an posterior concavity.
In the human spine, as viewed from the lateral aspect (see image), there are four normal curvatures. The cervical and lumbar curvatures are lordotic, while the thoracic and sacrococcygeal curvatures are kyphotic. Based on this description kyphosis and lordosis are normal conditions of the human spine.
A pathological, excessive, or exacerbated curvature should be denoted with the terms [hyperkyphosis] and [hyperlordosis] respectively; the prefix [hyper-] meaning "excessive". Through use, the terms [kyphosis] and [lordosis] are also used to denote pathological conditions. Hyperkyphosis has mostly a thoracic presentation, while hyperlordosis has mostly a lumbar presentation.
In vernacular terms, an individual with hyperkyphosis is known as a "hunchback", while an individual with hyperlordosis is known as a "swayback".
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The eponymic “valve of Vieussens” is a venous valve found at the most proximal portion (or beginning) of the coronary sinus. The valve was first described by Raymond de Vieussens and thus carries its name.
Venous valves are common on peripheral veins but they tend not to be present on intraabdominal and intrathoracic veins, with some exceptions. These valves are form by thin veil-like reduplications of the venous endothelium.
Zawadzki, et al (2004) demonstrated in an endoscopic study of the valve of Vieussens that it is present in 78% of the cases and that the valve can be single, double, and even triple. The morphology of this particular valve is of interest as there are some cardiac catheterization procedures that may attempt to pass a retrograde catheter or fluid from the coronary sinus into the great cardiac vein.
Sources:
1. “Endoscopic Study of the Morphology of Vieussens Valve” Zawadzki, M. et al Clinical Anatomy (2004) 17:318 –321
2. “The valve of Vieussens: an important cause of difficulty in advancing catheters into the cardiac veins” Corcoran, SJ J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 1999 Jun;10(6):804-8
3. “Valve of Vieussens: An obstacle for left ventricular lead placement” Sthromer, B Can J Cardiol. Sep 2008; 24(9): e63
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Anterior view of the heart
The marginal veins are usually two (sometimes three) venous branches each which run along or parallel with the obtuse marginal arteries. They represent the venous return from the anterolateral aspect of the left ventricular wall.
The first (obtuse) marginal vein usually anastomoses with the great cardiac vein just before the great cardiac vein empties into the coronary sinus. The other obtuse marginal veins may enter the coronary sinus directly
Sources:
1. "Gray's Anatomy" 38th British Ed. Churchill Livingstone 1995
2. “Variable anatomy of the right coronary artery supply to the left ventricle” Adams, J. Treasure, T. Thorax 1985;40:618-623
4. "Anatomy of the Human Body" Henry Gray 1918. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger
Image modified by CAA, Inc. Original image courtesy of bartleby.com