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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UPDATED: The mediastinum is the median region of the thorax, usually described as the "space"1 between the lungs. This region is divided into a superior and inferior mediastinum by a plane that pases through the sternal angle or Angle of Louis.
The inferior mediastinum is itself divided into three separate regions by the pericardial sac. The region anterior to the pericardial sac is the "anterior mediastinum", the region posterior to the pericardial sac is the "posterior mediastinum", and the region containing and including the pericardial sac is the "middle mediastinum". Thus described the mediastinum comprises four regions as follows:
• Superior mediastinum: It contains the aortic arch, the brachiocephalic trunk, the thoracic segments of the left common carotid and the left subclavian arteries, the brachiocephalic veins, a portion of the superior vena cava, the vagus nerve, phrenic nerve, and left recurrent laryngeal nerve, trachea, esophagus, thoracic duct and the remains of the thymus gland
• Anterior mediastinum: A narrow space, more developed on the left side, anterior to the pericardial sac and contains some lymph nodes and connective tissue
• Middle mediastinum: The largest mediastinal region, it contains the pericardial sac, the heart, the bifurcation of the trachea, the inferior vena cava, and the cardiac end of the great vessels.
• Posterior mediastinum: Contains the descending aorta, the azygos and hemiazygos veins, the esophagus, and thoracic duct.
Personally, I do not use the description of the mediastinum as a "the space beween the lungs", as it conjures the image of literal "open spaces" around or between the organs. The fact is that the mediastinum is tightly packed with no spaces between the organs. This is why I prefer the definition of the mediastinum as an "area" or "region" between the lungs. Dr. Miranda.
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There are two types of [costal facets]: costal demifacets, and transverse costal facets.
The first type are small, half-moon shaped facets found in the posterior aspect of the vertebral body of thoracicvertebrae. They are called demifacets, from the French word [demi], which itself derives from the Latin [dimidius] meaning "split in two" or "halved". A demifacet is "half a small face". There is usually one larger superior demifacet and a smaller inferior demifacet, both close to the area where the vertebral body meets the pedicle. Anothe term for each demifacet is a fovea costalis. The articulation of two adjacent demifacets and one rib form a costovertebral joint.
The second type are articular facets found in the transverse processes of the thoracic vertebrae. These allow most of the rib to articulate with the same number vertebra (T1 - Rib 1, T2 - Rib 2, etc). The articulation of a transverse costal facet and one rib form a costotransverse joint.
There are specific variations to these facets and joints as follows:
• T11 and T12 do not have transverse costal facets
• T1 has a complete superior costal facet for rib #1 and an inferior demifacet for rib #2
• T11 and T12 have a complete costal facet on their vertebral body, no demifacets
Image property of: CAA.Inc. Photographer: David M. Klein
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This medical term is formed by the prefix [intra-] meaning “within”, or "inside", the root term [-periton-] meaning “peritoneum”, and the adjectival suffix [-eal], meaning “pertaining to”. In the strictest sense, the term [intraperitoneal] means “inside the peritoneum”.
The term is used to refer to anatomical structures that are contained inside the peritoneum, or inside the peritoneal sac. Now, this is a misconception, as all the so-called "intraperitoneal" structures are actually outside the peritoneum. This is better explained by looking at the accompanying image. The peritoneum drapes around the abdominal organs giving these organs an external layer called a serosa. This also forms double-layered extensions called a mesentery, a meso, an omentum, or a ligament.
The fact that these "intraperitoneal" structures have this double-layered peritoneal extension renders them mobile. They can, within reason, move around with peristalsis and gravity.
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In my years of experience as a medical industry trainer, and specially in the cardiovascular arena, I doubt if I ever received the correct answer to the question "How many are the great vessels?". Answer it now before you read the rest of this article, you may be surprised!
A great vessel is an artery or a vein that is in direct contact with the heart taking or bringing blood from the heart to the body and vice versa. At this point, most of the attendees to one of my conferences would answer "4". This is not correct.
The great vessels are:
• Aorta
• Pulmonary trunk
• Superior vena cava
• inferior vena cava
• Pulmonary veins
There are four pulmonary veins, two on each side (sometimes three on the right side), one superior and one inferior. This brings the total number of the great vessels to eight! By the way, if you answered "pulmonary artery" as one of the great vessels, that is not correct. Read more on the correct answer here.
Human heart clinical anatomy and pathology are some of the many lecture topics developed and presented by Clinical Anatomy Associates, Inc.
Sources:
1. "Tratado de Anatomia Humana" Testut et Latarjet 8 Ed. 1931 Salvat Editores, Spain
2. "Gray's Anatomy" 38th British Ed. Churchill Livingstone 1995
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The duodenojejunal junction is the point where the fourth segment of the duodenum, the ascending duodenum, meets and is continuous with the most proximal portion of the jejunum.
The suspensory muscle of the duodenum attaches to the superior aspect of the duodenojejunal junction. This muscle is also known as the "muscle of Treitz" or "musculus suspensorius duodenii" and was first described in 1853 by Dr. Václav Treitz. The parietal peritoneum forms a fold over the suspensory muscle of the duodenum and this fold is known as the "ligament of Treitz".
The duodenojejunal junction (marked by the ligament of Treitz) is an important anatomical landmark used by anatomists and surgeons to denote the point where the small intestine passes from retroperitoneal duodenum to intraperitoneal jenunum. This means that while most of the duodenum is covered by parietal peritoneum, plastered to the posterior abdominal wall, and immobilized by it; the jejunum is mobile, meaning that the anatomist and surgeon can easily move it around because of the presence of a well-developed mesentery.
Sources:
1. "Clinically Oriented Anatomy" Moore, KL. 3r Ed. Williams & Wilkins 1992
2. "The origin of Medical Terms" Skinner, AH, 1970
3. "The suspensory muscle of the duodenum and its nerve supply" Jit, I.; Singh, S. J. Anat. (1977), 123, 2, pp. 397-405
4. "Anatomical and functional aspects of the human suspensory muscle of the duodenum." Costacurta, L. Acta Anat (Basel). 1972;82(1):34-46
Image property of: CAA.Inc. Artists: Dr. E. Miranda and D.M. Klein
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This word arises from the Latin word [canna], meaning “reed” with the Latin suffix [-ula], used to denote something small. Since reeds are hollow, the word [cannula] can be translated as a “small, hollow reed”.
In medicine, a cannula is a small, hollow tube used to draw fluids or introduce drugs or fluids into the body. It can also be an instrument that is used as a guide for other instruments to be introduced in the body.
Cannulation is the act of using or placing a cannula. The Latin plural for cannula is [cannulae], although the English version [cannulas] is acceptable.