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.
You are welcome to submit questions and suggestions using our "Contact Us" form. The information on this blog follows the terms on our "Privacy and Security Statement" and cannot be construed as medical guidance or instructions for treatment.
We have 454 guests online
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
"Clinical Anatomy Associates, Inc., and the contributors of "Medical Terminology Daily" wish to thank all individuals who donate their bodies and tissues for the advancement of education and research”.
Click here for more information
- Details
Click for a larger image
The root term [-gnath-] arises from the Greek word [γνάθος] (gn?thos) meaning “jaw” or “jaw bone”. It is used in medical terms referring to jaw pathology,
- Prognathism or prognathia: The prefix [pro-] means “forward”. A protrusion of the jaw
- Retrognathism or retrognathia: The prefix [retro-] means “posterior”. A posterior displacement caused by lack of development of the jaw
- Micrognathia: The prefix [micro-] means “small”. A small jaw
All these words (prognathism, retrognathism, and micrognathism) are examples of dysmorphism. The accompanying image shows a case of acromegaly with consequent prognathism due to overdevelopment of the jaw.
Note: The links to Google Translate include an icon that will allow you to hear the pronunciation of the word.
Image: By Philippe Chanson and Sylvie Salenave [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
- Details
Click for a larger image
UPDATED: The word [sphincter] derives from the Greek [σφιγκτήρ] (sfinkt??r), with the same meaning, in turn arising from the Greek word [σφιχτός] (sficht?s) meaning "tight". . The term was originally used by Galen (129AD - 200AD) in the meaning of "to bind tight" or "that which binds tight".
A sphincter is an area of circular muscle fibers that controls a canal or an opening. Rufus named some of them, because of their shape, [orbicularis], a Latin term meaning "circular". An example of this nomenclature are the [orbicularis oculi] and the [orbicularis ori] muscles, the circular muscles of the eye and mouth, respectively.
Some of the so-called "sphincters" in the body are functional sphincters, that is, they control a canal mostly because of their shape, not because of the constrictive action of their circular muscle fibers, such as the ileocecal sphincter or valve, which is normally a one-way valve or a check-valve (shown in the picture)
Other sphincters are true anatomical sphincters, where the number and strength of their circular fibers close off the lumen of the organ, but these are not one-way valves. An example of this type of sphincter is the pylorus.
Images and links public domain, courtesy of: www.bartleby.com
- Details
Click for a larger image
UPDATED: The abdominal aorta is the fourth, last, and most distal portion of the aorta. It begins when the descending aorta passes through the aortic hiatus of the respiratory diaphragm, just about the level of the 11th or 12th thoracic vertebra. It ends inferiorly at the bifurcation of the aorta, anterior to the lower portion of the body of the 4th lumbar vertebra where the abdominal aorta is continuous with the right and left common iliac arteries.
The abdominal aorta gives off a number of paired (bilateral) and unpaired (single) arterial branches. The paired branches are:
• Inferior phrenic arteries: provide blood supply to the respiratory diaphragm
• Renal arteries: Provide blood supply to the kidneys
• Gonadal arteries: Depending on the gender, they are called testicular or ovarian arteries, providing blood supply to the gonads
• Lumbar arteries: There are four pairs of lumbar arteries, which pass posteriorly around the vertebral bodies and provide supply to the spine and the back.
• Suprarenal arteries: These are several minute arteries that provide blood supply to the suprarenal glands. The suprarenal (adrenal) glands also receive several minute arteries that arise from the renal arteries and the inferior phrenic arteries.
The unpaired arterial branches of the abdominal aorta are:
• Celiac trunk: Provides blood supply to the stomach, spleen, liver, and duodenum
• Superior mesenteric artery: Provides blood supply to duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and the right side of the colon
• Inferior mesenteric artery: Provides blood supply to the left side of the colon, and superior aspect of the rectum
• Middle sacral artery: This is the only branch of the aorta that arises from its posterior aspect, it descends providing blood supply to the sacrum and fifth lumbar vertebra
Clinically, the abdominal aorta is divided by the origin of the renal arteries into a suprarenal and an infrarenal segment. This division is important for the surgical treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). To see a AAA, click here.
The suprarenal segment is bound laterally by the crura of the respiratory diaphragm. and its inferior boundary is the superior aspect of the highest renal artery (usually the left renal artery). It has branches that are critical for the blood supply of most of the digestive tract, the celiac trunk and the superior mesenteric artery, plus the inferior phrenic arteries and the suprarenal arteries.
The infrarenal segment includes the renal arteries, the inferior mesenteric artery, gonadal arteries, lumbar arteries, and the middle sacral artery.
Image property of:CAA.Inc.Artist:Victoria G. Ratcliffe
- Details
Click for a larger image
UPDATED: Definition: "A hilum" is the area of an organ where all the structures that enter or leave the organ are found". The term is based on a Latin word meaning something small, or trivial. Also used to describe the small spot on a seed where the seed is attached. The Latin phrase [ne hilum] was used to denote something of no worth or "not at all". In English it would have been similar to "not worth a bean". The plural form for [hilum] is [hila].
In human anatomy the term is used more on the seed attachment meaning. Since a hilum is the area of an organ where all the structures that enter or leave the organ are found, severing the root structures at the level of the hilum detaches the organ from the body. There are several hila in the body:
• Renal hilum: The hilum of the kidney (see item 5 in the accompanying image)
• Lienal hilum: The hilum of the spleen
• Splenic hilum: The hilum of the spleen
• Pulmonary hilum: The hilum of the spleen
• Hepatic hilum: The hilum of the liver. This name is not commonly used and the hepatic hilum is known as the "porta hepatis" meaning the "door to the liver".
There is a wrong version of the term. The word [hilus] is sometimes used and is incorrect. This word was a mistake by the anatomist Bartolomeo Eustachius (c.1520 - 1574) that has continued until today.
Here is the key to the image: Longitudinal section of a kidney. 1-Renal pyramid, 3-Renal artery, 4-Renal vein, 5-Renal hilum, 6-Renal pelvis, 7- Ureter, 8-Minor calyx, 9-Renal capsule, 14-Minor calyx, 15- Major calyx, 16-Renal papilla, 17-Renal column .
Original Image by Piotr Micha? Jaworski; PioM EN DE PL (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons
- Details
The suffix [-(o)gram] evolved from the Greek word [γράμμα] (gr?mma) , meaning "letter". It was used to denote the written record that was maintained about a patient's ailment. When modern devices that could record an examination, such as an electrocardiograph, the suffix [-ogram] was added to the graphic, so we end up with an electrocardiogram. Today we use it to mean "examination of" with the caveat that some type of written, photographic, digital or drawn record must be left behind. Examples of the use of this suffix are:
- Cholangiogram: Examination of a bile vessel
- Angiogram: Examination of a vessel
- Mammogram: Examination of a breast
- Electrocardiogram: Examination of the electrical activity of the heart. EKG or ECG
- Details
The term [cholecystectomy] is composed by the combined root terms [-chole-] derived from the Greek word [χολή] (cholí) meaning "gall" or "bile, and the root term [-cyst-], also derived from the Greek [κύστη], meaning "bladder". The suffix [-ectomy] results from the combination of two Greek words and means "removal of". For more information of this suffix, click here.
A cholecystectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the gallbladder. It is usually performed because the patient has cholecystolithiasis, a condition where there are calculi (stones) in the gallbladder.
Cholecystectomies were initially made through an "open" procedure, where an incision was done in the abdomen. Today the procedure is performed laparoscopically through small incisions. The first laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed by Dr. Eric Muhe (1938 - 2005) on September 12, 1985. He was followed by Francois Dubois in 1988, and others. Today with the exception of major emergencies or extremely large gallbladders most cholecystectomies are performed laparoscopically.
The accompanying YouTube video shows a laparoscopic cholecystectomy with a detailed demonstration of the instrumentation used in the procedure, courtesy The Mount Sinai Surgical Film Atlas. Because this video shows a surgical procedure and it is age-restricted. To watch the video you will have to log in to YouTube
Note: The links to Google Translate include an icon that will allow you to hear the Greek or Latin pronunciation of the word.