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Jean George Bachmann
(1877 – 1959)
French physician–physiologist whose experimental work in the early twentieth century provided the first clear functional description of a preferential interatrial conduction pathway. This structure, eponymically named “Bachmann’s bundle”, plays a central role in normal atrial activation and in the pathophysiology of interatrial block and atrial arrhythmias.
As a young man, Bachmann served as a merchant sailor, crossing the Atlantic multiple times. He emigrated to the United States in 1902 and earned his medical degree at the top of his class from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1907. He stayed at this Medical College as a demonstrator and physiologist. In 1910, he joined Emory University in Atlanta. Between 1917 -1918 he served as a medical officer in the US Army. He retired from Emory in 1947 and continued his private medical practice until his death in 1959.
On the personal side, Bachmann was a man of many talents: a polyglot, he was fluent in German, French, Spanish and English. He was a chef in his own right and occasionally worked as a chef in international hotels. In fact, he paid his tuition at Jefferson Medical College, working both as a chef and as a language tutor.
The intrinsic cardiac conduction system was a major focus of cardiovascular research in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The atrioventricular (AV) node was discovered and described by Sunao Tawara and Karl Albert Aschoff in 1906, and the sinoatrial node by Arthur Keith and Martin Flack in 1907.
While the connections that distribute the electrical impulse from the AV node to the ventricles were known through the works of Wilhelm His Jr, in 1893 and Jan Evangelista Purkinje in 1839, the mechanism by which electrical impulses spread between the atria remained uncertain.
In 1916 Bachmann published a paper titled “The Inter-Auricular Time Interval” in the American Journal of Physiology. Bachmann measured activation times between the right and left atria and demonstrated that interruption of a distinct anterior interatrial muscular band resulted in delayed left atrial activation. He concluded that this band constituted the principal route for rapid interatrial conduction.
Subsequent anatomical and electrophysiological studies confirmed the importance of the structure described by Bachmann, which came to bear his name. Bachmann’s bundle is now recognized as a key determinant of atrial activation patterns, and its dysfunction is associated with interatrial block, atrial fibrillation, and abnormal P-wave morphology. His work remains foundational in both basic cardiac anatomy and clinical electrophysiology.
Sources and references
1. Bachmann G. “The inter-auricular time interval”. Am J Physiol. 1916;41:309–320.
2. Hurst JW. “Profiles in Cardiology: Jean George Bachmann (1877–1959)”. Clin Cardiol. 1987;10:185–187.
3. Lemery R, Guiraudon G, Veinot JP. “Anatomic description of Bachmann’s bundle and its relation to the atrial septum”. Am J Cardiol. 2003;91:148–152.
4. "Remembering the canonical discoverers of the core components of the mammalian cardiac conduction system: Keith and Flack, Aschoff and Tawara, His, and Purkinje" Icilio Cavero and Henry Holzgrefe Advances in Physiology Education 2022 46:4, 549-579.
5. Knol WG, de Vos CB, Crijns HJGM, et al. “The Bachmann bundle and interatrial conduction” Heart Rhythm. 2019;16:127–133.
6. “Iatrogenic biatrial flutter. The role of the Bachmann’s bundle” Constán E.; García F., Linde, A.. Complejo Hospitalario de Jaén, Jaén. Spain
7. Keith A, Flack M. The form and nature of the muscular connections between the primary divisions of the vertebrate heart. J Anat Physiol 41: 172–189, 1907.
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The root term [-galact-] originates from the Greek [γάλα] (gala) meaning "milk". The use of this Greek word can be seen in the word [galaxy] initially used to refer to the Milky Way, our own galaxy. Applications of this include:
- Galactorrhea: The suffix [-(o)rrhea] means "flow" or "discharge". A discharge of milk
- Galactocyte: The suffix [-(o)cyte] means "cell". A milk-producing cell
- Galactophorous: A conduit or tube that carries milk
- Galactophoritis: An inflammation or infection of a conduit or tube that carries milk
- Galactopoiesis: The suffix [-(o)poieisis] means "to make", "action", "process". or "performance.. Refers to the process that creates milk
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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The medical suffix [-(o)rrhea] has a Greek origin and means "flow" or "discharge". The term is used in many medical words. Applications of this root term include:
- Galactorrhea: The root term [-galact-] means "milk". Milk discharge
- Agalactorrhea: The suffix [a-] means "without" or "absence". Absence of milk discharge
- Diarrhea: The root term [-dia] means "complete" or "trough". The word needs no explanation
- Amenorrhea: The root term [-men-)] means "menses". Absence of menstrual flow
- Dacryohemorrhea: A bloody flow of tears
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The root term [dactly-] originates from the Greek [δάχτυλο] (dactylos) meaning "finger", also used for "toe". Applications of this term include:
- Dactylitis: The suffix [-itis] means "inflammation" or "infection. Inflammation or infection of a finger or a toe
- Dactyledema: A swelling of the fingers or toes
- Dactylomegaly: The suffix [-(o)megaly] means "enlargement". An abnormally large finger(s) or toe(s)
- Dactylospasm: Cramping of the finger(s) or toe(s)
- Dactyloscopy: Literally "to view the fingers". The science that studies fingerprints, first proposed by Sir William Herschel and Francis Galton, the system for dactyloscopy as a modern police investigative device was created by Juan Vucetich (1858 - 1925) in Argentina
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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The suffix [-ema] means "condition", as in "disease" or "pathology". Applications of this suffix include:
- Erythrema: The root term [erythr-] means "red". A condition of redness
- Emphysema: The root term [-emphys-] means "to blow" or "to dilate". A dilated condition
- Empyema: The root term [-py(o)] means "pus" as a result of an infection. A condition of pus
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This article is part of the series "A Moment in History" where we honor those who have contributed to the growth of medical knowledge in the areas of anatomy, medicine, surgery, and medical research.
Dr. Aladar Petz
Dr. Aladár Petz (1888 – 1956) Hungarian surgeon, Aladár Petz was born in 1888 in the city of Gyôr. He studied medicine at the P?ter P?zm?ny University in Budapest. In 1922 he was appointed Chief of the Surgical Department at the Holy Trinity Hospital in Gyôr. During WWI Dr. Petz served as a military surgeon.
In 1920 Dr. Petz created an improvement to the original surgical stapler developed by Dr. Húmer Húltl (1868 – 1940). The original Húltl instrument was very heavy and bulky. Petz’s instrument was lighter, easier to use and added mechanical improvements over the original. After obtaining the patent for the instrument, Petz’s device was commercialized under the instrument device company name “Aesculap”. Both Húltl and Petz called their devices “Magendarmnahtapparat” = gastrointestinal suture apparatus. This instrument was the basis of the surgical stapler research and development that happened later in the USSR in the early 1900's. Dr. Petz and his "Von Petz" stapler are an integral part of the history of surgical stapling.
Although his Hungarian name was Aladar Petz, his name is better known by the German version Aladár Von Petz. Because of his long tenure as Chief of Surgery, Hospital Manager, and his special dedication to saving the hospital during WWII, his name is remembered at the Alad?r Petz Teaching Hospital of Gyôr in Hungary.
Sources:
1. “Aladár Petz, the inventor of the modern surgical staplers” Ol?h, A. Surgery 2008;143:146-147
2. “Current Practice of Surgical Stapling" Ravitch, MM; Steichen, FM, 1991.
3. “Highlights of Twentieth Century Surgery in Hungary” Sandor, J et al. World J. Surg 2004; 28, 526–532
4. “Aladár Petz (1888–1956) and His World-Renowned Invention: The Gastric Stapler” (commentary by Dr. Felicien Steichen) Ol?h, A. Dig Surg 2002;19: 393-399.
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The prefix [erythr-] originates from the Greek [ερυθρός] (erythros) meaning "red". Applications of this include:
- Erythrocyte: The suffix [-(o)cyte] means "cell". A red cell, referring to a red blood cell
- Erythroblast: The suffix [-(o)blast] means "a germ" or "a sprout". An erythroblast is a red blood cell that has not matured yet and still contains a nucleus
- Erythroblastocyte: This is probably a better word, not used much, that refers to a red cell that is still a "sprout", not yet ready
- Erythropoieisis: The suffix [-(o)poieisis] means "to make". Refers to the process that creates red blood cells
Note: The links to Google Translate in these articles include an icon that will allow you to hear the Greek or Latin pronunciation of the word.