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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The pubic symphysis is a joint found between the pubic bones. It is composed by a layer of hyaline cartilage that covers the medial surface of each pubic bone (os pubis), and a fibrocartilaginous disc arranged in lamellae, somewhat akin to the structure of an intervertebral disc. It is classified as a fibrocartilaginous joint or a secondary cartilaginous joint. It generally presents with an internal midline cleft and is surrounded by strong ligaments. This joint has very little movement, limited to about one degree. The ligaments are:
• Superior pubic ligament: Found on the public crest, this ligament extends laterally as far as the pubic tubercles. It also serves as anchoring point for the tendons of the rectus abdominis muscles and the pyramidalis muscle.
• Inferior pubic ligament: Also known as the subpubic ligament this ligament forms an arch and attaches to the inferomedial aspect of the inferior pubic rami
• Anterior pubic ligament: Found anterior to the pubic symphysis, this ligament attaches to the periosteum of the anterior aspect of the body of the pubic bone
•Posterior pubic ligament: Found on the posterior aspect of the pubic bone, this ligament is the anterior boundary of the retropubic space of Retzius
Under the influence of hormones, the pubic symphysis becomes softer and more mobile in pregnant women. This is good for natural birth, but can be the cause of symphyseal pain in the later stages of pregnancy.
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This medical word is formed by the prefix [-dys-] meaning “abnormal”, the root term [-kin-] meaning “movement”, and the suffix [-esia] meaning “condition” or “situation". Dyskinesia is “a condition of abnormal movement”.
Dyskinesia refers to a wide variety of involuntary movements that are either extraneous, or a fragmentation of normal movements of the face or limbs. The etiology for dyskinesia can be pharmacological, because of long-term use of antipsychotic medicine (tardive dyskinesia) or related to damage (trauma) or abnormal development of deep brain structures.
Dyskinetic movements are involuntary and classified as:
- Tremor: Small oscillating movements either at rest or during muscle activity, as in Parkinson’s disease
- Chorea: Irregular random and excessive movements
- Myoclonus: Rapid, fast and arrhythmic movements
- Tics: Brief and repetitive movements
- Dystonia: Postures that are involuntary and maintained for a brief time
Following are links to YouTube videos that show patients with different types of dyskinesia. These videos will open in a separate page
WARNING! These videos could be disturbing to some viewers. Videos courtesy of the JAMA Network.
Video 1: Demonstration of Kinesigenic Dyskinesia
Video 2: Choreathetotic Movement Attack in a Patient With Paroxysmal Nonkinesigenic Dyskinesia
Video 3: Orofacial Dyskinesia
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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.
Adrian Van Der Spigelius
Adriaan Van Der Spigelius (1578 - 1625). Sometimes knows as Adrianus Spigelius, was a Flemish surgeon, anatomist, and botanist born in Brussels. Just as Vesalius, he studied at the University of Louvain, and later in Padua, Italy. Having settled as a professor of anatomy in Venice, in 1616 he was offered and accepted the Chair of Anatomy at Padua. His posthumous work "De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri X" was published in 1627.
Spigelius described the caudate lobe of the liver and the "linea semilunaris", the lateral border of the rectus abdominis muscle. Today, a ventral hernia that occurs in the linea semilunaris is said to be an "Spigelian hernia".
His name is also associated with the Spigelian fascia, formed by the combined aponeuroses of the external oblique muscle, the internal oblique muscle and the transversus abdominis muscle.
If you hover over Spigelius' image, you will see an anatomical drawing depicting the linea semilunaris (arrow).
Original image courtesy of Wikipedia. Hover image property of:CAA.Inc.. Artist:D.M. Klein
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The root term [-kin-] and its variation [-kine-] originate from the Greek word [κινέω] (kineo) and means "to move", or "place in motion". Applications of this root term include:
- Kinesiology: Study of movement
- Dyskinesia: Abnormal movement
- Kinetic: Pertaining to movement
- Kinesis: Movement
- Cytokinesis: Cell movement
- Kinesthesia: Sensation of movement, etc.
The root terms [-cine-] and [-cinemat-] are a variation of [-kine-] and also mean "movement". They are the basis of the word "cinematography" which means "process of writing or recording movement" in other words "moving pictures". The shortened version gives us [cinema]. Medical use of these root terms gives us:
- Cineangiography: Recording of vessels in movement
- Cineangiocardiography: Recording of the heart vessels in movement
- Coronary cineangiography: Pertaining to movement of the coronary vessels
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The [pectineal ligament], also known as [Cooper's ligament) is a thickening of the periosteum that overlays the pectineal line of the pubis which is reinforced by fibers that extend from the inguinal ligament (Poupart's) and the lacunar ligament (Gimbernat's).
The medial boundary of the pectineal ligament is at the pubic tubercle, where the ligament is at its thickest. From here the pectineal ligament extends laterally as part of the pectineal line of the pubis. As it moves laterally the pectineal ligament thins slowly. There is no clear lateral boundary to the lateral aspect of the pectineal ligament.
This is important in the repair of inguinofemoral hernias though laparoscopic procedures. The pectineal ligament is one of the targets used to place staples or bone tacks to attach a mesh that reinforces the hernia repair.
Do not confuse this ligament with others with the same name found in the breast.
Image property of: CAA.Inc. Artist: Mark Zuptitch
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The os pubis, also known as the "pubic bone" is a bilateral bone found in the anterior aspect of the pelvis. It is one of the three components of the os coxae (hip bones). See number 4 in the accompanying image, click on the image for a larger depiction.
Each bone is composed by:
• Body: (a) The anteromedial component. Each medial aspect of these bones is related to the pubic symphysis (5). The superior border of the corpus os pubis is called the pubic crest, site of attachment for the rectus abdominis and pyramidalis muscles
• Superior pubic ramus: (b) The superior bony extension of the pubic bone. On its superior aspect there is a sharp bony edge called the pectineal line of the pubis, site of attachment for the pectineal ligament (Cooper's ligament), and part of the pelvic brim. The superior pubic ramus is the superior boundary of the obturator foramen
• Inferior pubic ramus: (c) The inferior bony extension of the pubic bone. In conjunction with the ischium (3), the inferior pubic ramus forms the inferior boundary of the obturator foramen
• Pubic tubercle: (d) A small bony protrusion in the superior aspect of the pubic bone
Original image, Public domain, courtesy of Wikipedia
