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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Anterior view of the stomach
This is a German word composed of [magen] meaning "stomach" and [strasse] meaning "road or street", therefore [magenstrasse] means "stomach road".
Most everybody that studies anatomy or gastrointestinal surgery knows that the stomach has several regions that include the fundus, body (corpus), antrum, pyloric canal , and pylorus. The anatomical term [magenstrasse] refers to a tubular and thicker area of the stomach close to the lesser curvature (see image).
This old anatomical German term has come back en vogue because of bariatric surgery. In a sleeve gastrectomy, the stomach is stapled and separated along the left lateral border of the magenstrasse, leaving only a tubular, less distensible portion of the stomach.
Here is an article from the "Journal of Biomechanics" on the physiological magenstrasse and gastric emptying. For a video of this procedure CLICK HERE
Video available on YouTube, published by Realize TM
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UPDATED: From the Greek [εὐφωνία] [eu-] meaning "good" and [phone/phonos] meaning "sound or voice". The term [euphonic] means "sounds good".
This is useful when combining root terms where the proximal to distal order of root terms does not apply. An example is the removal of the Fallopian tubes and ovaries. Since there is no true attachment, or flow of fluids between these structures, the words [salpingooophorectomy] and [oophorosalpingectomy] are both correct, but one of them is easier to pronounce and articulate, or euphonic, therefore that is the one we use: [salpingooophorectomy].
Note: Since the two root terms [-salping-] (Fallopian or uterine tube) and [-oophor-] (ovary) are connected with an [-o-] (meaning "and") per the rules used for combining root terms, the use of a hyphen to connect these terms is redundant and incorrect!
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The term [thalamus] arises from the Latin (Thalamo], meaning “the wedding chamber”, "the inner chamber" or “the wedding bed”. It also has a similar meaning in Greek. Early anatomists thought that the enclosure of the lateral ventricles with the fornix as a roof formed a chamber. The lager nuclear mass known as the thalamus looked to some as a double bed in a chamber, hence the name.
It did help that the thalamus has a larger posterior protuberance akin to a cushion or a pillow, the pulvinar.
The thalamus is a paramedian structure which forms the lateral walls of the third ventricle of the brain, as well as part of the floor of the lateral ventricles of the brain. It can sometimes (30%) present a midline mass which communicates both thalami across the third ventricle. It is separated from the mesencephalon (midbrain) by the subthalamic region.
It is an important relay system, as all the sensory information to the brain (with the exception of the olfactory) has a synaptic stop at one or more of the thalamic nuclei before being sent to the cortex of the brain. The thalamus also receives important motor collaterals, as well as cerebellar and subthalamic information. This makes the thalamus an important entity in the regulation of fine motor control. Thalamic dysfunction can lead to sleep disorders and coma.
The thalamus also serves as an important relay between sensory, motor, limbic, and hypothalamic activity, making it critical to the relation of emotions, visceral responses, and prefrontal cortical activity. It also plays an important role in wakefulness, and consciousness.
In the accompanying image the thalamus is found covered by the choroid plexuses of the lateral ventricle.
Note: The links to Google Translate include an icon that will allow you to hear the pronunciation of the word. Image property of CAA, Inc. Photographer: E. Klein
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The adjectival term [epiploic] arises from the Greek term [επίπλουν] (pronounced “epiploun”) which is synonymous with the Latin term [omentum], referring to two abdominal peritoneal membranes, the lesser omentum and the greater omentum. For more information on the word [omentum] click here.
The word itself is used in Greek in the expression [επιπλέουν πάνω] (epiploun pano) which means “to float upon”, referring to the fact that the fatty omental apron “floats” or “drapes” upon the abdominal viscera. Hippocrates of Cos (460 BC - 370 BC) referred to the greater omentum as epiploon. This anatomical name evolved towards the Latin version, which is used today. In spite of this there are other languages where the Greek root is still used. As examples, in Spanish the terms are “epiplón mayor” and “epiplón menor”, and in French they are “grand epiploon” and “petit epiploon”.
Because of the presence of fat in the greater omentum, the medical adjectival term [epiploic] has also evolved to mean “fatty”, such as in the case of the epiploic appendages, a series of fatty appendages found in the colon.
Images property of:CAA.Inc.. Photographer:D.M. Klein
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Aaron Ruhalter, MD, FACS
I am sad to let everybody know that Dr. Ruhalter passed on yesterday January 25th, 2016. A good friend, guide, and mentor, Dr. Ruhalter was always reminding me to keep on using drawings and sketches to teach human anatomy, a subject he loved, and at which he excelled. I will miss him dearly. May he rest in peace. Dr. Miranda
Dr. Aaron Ruhalter was for many years the Executive Director of Medical Education at the Johnson & Johnson Endo-Surgery Institute in Cincinnati. Dr. Ruhalter is a Professor of Anatomy and a former Professor of Surgery at the Robert Wood Johnson Memorial Hospital in New Jersey. He was also one of the founding members of the American Association of Clinical Anatomists (AACA).
His review on the surgical anatomy of the parotid gland, submandibular triangle, and floor of the mouth is outstanding. This review was published in 1997 in the book "Mastery of Surgery", third edition, by Drs. Lloyd M. Nyhus, Robert J. Baker, and Josef E. Fischer.
Dr. Miranda worked with Dr. Ruhalter for several years, both at the Endo-Surgery Institute and at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. The picture above shows both of them preparing an anatomy blackboard session at the Institute, back in 1994.
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Refers to the internal lining of an artery or a vein. The tunica (layer) intima is composed of an inner layer known as endothelium (inner fabric or inner layer) and a subendothelial layer.
Also known as the [tunica intima vasorum], Latin for intimal (inner) layer of the vessels, the tunica inima is also known as "Bichat's tunic"