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 [celiac trunk] is the first anterior unpaired branch of the abdominal aorta. Through its branches the celiac trunk provides arterial blood supply to the stomach, spleen, duodenum, and pancreas, as well as the liver. The celiac trunk is related on its left side to the suspensory muscle of the duodenum, which when covered by peritoneum forms the ligament of Treitz.
The celiac trunk is a very short artery which rapidly divides in its three branches:
- Left gastric artery: Provides blood supply to the stomach and is part of the lesser curvature vascular arcade.
- Splenic artery: Provides blood supply to the spleen, and to the stomach through a branch, the left gastroepiploic artery.
- Common hepatic artery: Provides blood supply to the liver, stomach and pancreas
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The medical term [septic] arises from the Greek word [σηπτικός] (siptikós) which means “rotting”, “decaying”, or "putrefact". It was later adopted in Latin as the word we use today: [septic].
Septic describes a condition of infection of the tissues or wound contamination by any means, including bacteria. When blood is contaminated or infected, we refer to it as [septicemia]
A medical terminology note: Although it would seem that the root terms for septal and septic are the same, they are not. In the first one it is [-sept-], while in the second one the whole word [septic] is also the root term.
Then, if the above is true, why do we say [sepsis]? It is because the base of the Greek word [σηπτικός] (siptikós) is [σήψις] (sipsis) meaning “to rot”
Note: The links to Google Translate include an icon that will allow you to hear the pronunciation of the word.
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The root term [-sept-] arises from the Latin word [septum] which means “partition”, referring to a wall or division between areas or compartments. The addition of the adjectival suffix [-al] gives us the word [septal], meaning “pertaining to a septum”. The plural for [septum] is [septa]
In human anatomy the term is used in:
- Nasal septum: The osteocartilaginous division between both sides of the nose
- Interatrial septum: The wall or division between the atria of the heart
- Interventricular septum: The partition between the heart ventricles
- Septum pellucidum: A membranous separation between the lateral ventricles of the brain
- Intermuscular septa: There are several fibrous septa between the muscles in both the upper and lower extremities.
There are other septa in the human body not listed here.
Interestingly, the Greek counterpart of the Latin term [septum] is [διάφραγμα] (diáfragma) meaning “diaphragm”.
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The root term [-hepat-] arises from the Greek word [ηπαρ] (ipar) which means “liver”. It is used in many medical terms:
- Hepatic: The adjectival suffix [-ic] means “pertaining to”. Pertaining to the liver, as in “common hepatic artery”
- Hepatitis: The suffix [-itis] means “inflammation” or “infection”. Inflammation of the liver
- Hepatectomy: The suffix [-ectomy] means “removal of”. Removal of the liver
- Hepatomegaly: The suffix [-(o)megaly] means “enlargement”. An enlarged liver
Note: The links to Google Translate include an icon that will allow you to hear the pronunciation of the word.
Image in Public Domain, by Henry Vandyke Carter, MD - Gray's Anatomy.
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[UPDATED] The term [semilunar] means "half moon"; [luna] is Latin for "moon"). The term [semilunar valve] is a generic term used to describe both the pulmonary and aortic valves found at the exit of the right and left ventricle respectively. These valves are also called the "sigmoid valves"
Each valve is formed by three half-moon shaped leaflets (see accompanying image). Each leaftlet "hangs" loosely towards the lumen of the vessel, creating a space between the leaflet and the wall of the vessel. Each one of these spaces is called a "sinus of Valsalva".
The point where two leaflets meet is called a "commissure".
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The term [semilunar] is composed of the prefix [semi-] meaning "half", the root term [-lun-] which arises from the Latin word [luna] meaning "moon", and the adjectival suffix [-ar] meaning "pertaining to".
It is used to describe semicircular structures such as the leaflets or cusps that form both the both the pulmonary and aortic valves, Because of the shape of these leaflets these valves are also called "semilunar valves".
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