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 word [infarction] arises from the Latin [infarcire] meaning "to fill" or "to stuff". The word reflects the fact that the "stuffing" of an artery with a clot can lead to cell death or necrosis. especially if the area supplied by the clogged vessel does not have collateral circulation.
It is a common misconception that the term "infarction" means by default a "myocardial infarction". This is not true, as an infarction can occur anywhere in the body, most commonly in areas without collateral circulation, as the heart and brain (distal to the arterial circle of Willis).
The term infarction is a synonym for [stroke] as both refer to the denial of blood supply to an area of the body.
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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.
Franz Anton Mesmer
Franz Anton Mesmer (1734 - 1815). A German physician, he was also known as Friedrich Anton Mesmer. He studied medicine at the University of Vienna; for his thesis, he developed the theory of “animal magnetism,” based on the works of Newton and gravity and his studies of astrology and the influence of magnetic fields on objects. His 1776 dissertation was titled “De Planetary Influxu” (On the Influence of the Planets)
After 10 years of a normal medical practice (for the times) Mesmer grew ever so impatient with the “classic” potions, salves, and bloodletting. He treated a woman of what today would be called “hysteria” or “somatization disorder” with every known medical treatment unsuccessfully; she improved after a treatment with magnets! leading Mesmer to believe that “animal magnetism” was the way to continue his career.
Mesmer developed a pseudotechnique to “magnetize” almost every element except steel, and his patient base grew. These patients all had some type of mental disorder that was susceptible to treatment by suggestion. Mesmer had discovered what today we know as the “placebo effect” and the basics of therapeutic hypnosis. Mesmer had so many patients that he had to treat them in “batches”, several at a time. Patients who were treated by Mesmer were said to have been “Mesmerized”.
Mesmer came under attack by the scientific establishment and when he could not prove his theories he was discredited. The fact that Mesmer used theatrics to further influence his suggestive patients did not help and he was labeled a “quack”. Mesmer retired a rich man to Switzerland where he died in 1815.
Sources:
1. "Franz Anton Mesmer and the Rise and Fallof Animal Magnetism: Dramatic Cures, Controversy, and Ultimately a Triumph for the Scientific Method" Lanska DJ, Lanska JT Brain, Mind and Medicine: Essays in Eighteenth-Century Neuroscience, 2007
2. "Early American mesmeric societies: a historical study" Gravitz, MA Am J Clin Hypn (1994) 37, 41–48
3. "Franz Anton Mesmer: The first psychotherapist of the modern age?" Traetta, L (2008) Int J Psychol 43 (3-4) 121
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The root term [-styl-] is Greek and means "a pillar". The Latin term [stilos] means "a pointy structure". The suffix [oid] means "similar to". The word then means "similar to a pillar". In some cases the argument can be made that the Latin word "stylus" meaning a pen, is like a small pillar.
In anatomy, the styloid process is a pointy, slender pillar of bone that is found in the inferior aspect of the temporal bone. See accompanying image. Vesalius thought that a slender bony process of the ulna looked similar, so he called it also the "styloid process"
The root term [-styl-] can be found in muscles that are related to the styloid process of the temporal bone, such as: styloglossus, stylohyoid, and stylopharyngeus.
Article image in public domain, modified from Toldt's "Atlas of Human Anatomy", 1903.
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The word [necrosis] arises from the Greek [nekros] meaning "a dead body" or "death". The suffix [-osis] means "condition", but with the connotation of "many". Literally, the term necrosis means "many deaths", but it used to refer to "cell death".
When necrosis is due to an arterial obstruction, the term becomes synonymous with "infarction".
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The trapezium bone is one of the four bones that comprise the distal row of the carpus or carpal bones that form the wrist. It is distinguished by a large groove on its anterior (volar) surface. It is found on the lateral (radial) aspect of the wrist between the scaphoid bone proximally and the first metacarpal distally (see image). It is also known as the "multangular bone" or the "os multangulum majus"
The trapezium bone articulates with four bones, including the scaphoid, trapezoid, and the first and second metacarpals.
The accompanying image shows the anterior (volar) surface of the wrist. Click on the image for a larger picture.
Image modified from the original: "3D Human Anatomy: Regional Edition DVD-ROM." Courtesy of Primal Pictures
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The medical term [morphology] arises from the Greek root term [morphos] meaning "shape" or "form". The suffix [-ology] means "study of". In biological sciences [morphology] is the study of form.
Skinner1 defines morphology as the study of "the external configuration and structure of any part and the factors that influence its development and final form".
The term was first used in 1817
1. "The origin of Medical Terms" Skinner, AH, 1970