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 sinotubular junction (STJ) is a well-defined circular ridge found between the superior or tubular segment of the ascending aorta and the inferior, bulbous segment of the ascending aorta, known as the aortic root.
The STJ follows the superior contour of the three sinuses of Valsalva that form the bulbs of the aortic root and intersects the commissures of the aortic valve. In the accompanying image the STJ is depicted by a blue dotted line and the commissures are depicted by green arrows.
The ostia of the coronary arteries are usually found inferior to the STJ, although they can be on it or superior to the STJ. There seems to be a correlation with anomalous origins of the coronary ostia and sudden-death syndrome.
The image also shows the three cusps of the aortic valve: the non-coronary cusp (NCC), the right coronary cusp (RCC) and the left coronary cusp (LCC). The blue arrows indicate the location of the nodules of Arantius.
Medical terminology notes: There are many scholarly texts that hyphenate the word as [sino-tubular]. This is incorrect, as the root term is [-sin-], meaning "sinus". The addition of the [-o-] to the root term creates the combining form [-sino-] which is then used to connect to the root term [-tubul-]. Since it is a vowel and a consonant combining and they are euphonic, there is no need to add the hyphen. In fact, a word should use as a combining element either a hyphen or an [-o-], but not both. The word with the hyphen then should be [sin-tubular] which is definitely not euphonic. For more information on combining root terms, click here.
Others write [sinutubular]. The paragraph above clearly explains why this is a mistake. The root term is [-sin-] meaning "sinus" and the addition of the [-o-] creates the combining form [-sino-] and not [-sinu-].
Sources:
1. “Clinical Anatomy of the Aortic Root” Anderson, RH Heart 200; 84: 670–673
2. “The Anatomy of the Aortic Root” Loukas, E et al. Clin Anat 2014; 27:748-756
3: "Tratado de Anatomia Humana" Testut et Latarjet 8th Ed. 1931 Salvat Editores, Spain
Image property of: CAA.Inc.Photographer: D.M. Klein
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In many of the articles on this blog we study a specific root term associated with a meaning or a word. In this case we have to do it differently. The English word [man] has different root terms.
The first one is the root term [-antrhop-] derived from the Greek [άνθρωπος] (anthropos) meaning “man”. In this case it refers to the term [man] as in a cultural group or a species. Use of this term can be found in the words
- Anthropoid: The suffix [-oid] means “similar to”. Similar to the species of man (homo sapiens)
- Antropocentric: Centered on man
- Antropology: The suffix [-ology] means “study of".The study of man (as a cultural group or as a species)
- Misanthropic: The prefix [mis-] means “to hate” or “despise. To hate man
The second one is [-andr-], arising from the Greek [άνδρας] (andras), also meaning “man”. In this case it refers more to the gender and to an individual and can be found in the words
- Androgen: The suffix [-(o)gen] means “to generate” or “create”. It is used as a generic term for hormones (natural or synthetic) that can stimulate, control, or generate gender-specific characteristics.
- Android: The suffix [-oid] means “similar to”. Similar to a man
- Polyandry: The prefix [poly-] means “many. Refers to a woman marrying more than one man. The opposite would be [poligyny]
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First used by Galen, the term [menynx] is Greek and means "membrane", referring initially to any body membrane. Erasistratus (c. 300 B.C.) used the term [menynx] to refer to a membrane covering of the brain and spinal cord and has been used so since then.
The plural form of [menynx] is [meninges]. The plural form is common, but the singular form [menynx] is usually used incorrectly as [meninge].
There are three meninges that cover the spinal cord and brain. From deep to superficial:
•Pia Mater: Latin terms meaning "tender mother" it is a thin membrane covering the outer layer of the spinal cord and brain intimately and not easily dissectable from the organ.
•Arachnoid mater: The term refers to the spider-web look of this vascular menynx.
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•Dura mater: Latin terms meaning "tough mother". The dura mater is the outermost layer and is quite tough, forming a sac containing the spinal cord and brain, the dural sac or thecal sac. The images depict two famous sketches by Andrea Vesalius.
The superior image shows a head with the dura mater in situ (label "A"). The second image show the dura mater open (label "H") and the vessels associated with the arachnoid layer.
Between the arachnoid mater and pia mater there is a "space" filled with fluid. The space is called the subarachnoid space and the fluid is the cerebrospinal fluid.
Original images from Andreas Vesalius'"De Humani Corporis Fabrica; Libri Septem" (1543)
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The root term [-men-] originates from the Latin word [mensis] meaning “month”. Earlier forms of this term probably arise from the Greek [μήνας] (minas), also meaning “month”, but with the connotation of “lunar month” or “moon”.
Since a woman’s menstrual cycle is on average 28 days (ranging from 31 to 35 days) and a lunar month is 29 days and 12 hours in length, the root term [-men-] has been associated with a woman’s menstrual cycle, and menstruation. The term can be found in many words such as:
• Menses: The period of flow in a menstrual cycle. The “period”
• Amenorrhea: The prefix [a-] means “without” or “absence of”. The suffix [-(o)rrhea] means "flow". Without menstrual flow.
• Dysmenorrhea: The prefix [dys-] means “abnormal”. Abnormal menstrual flow
• Catamenial: Being or feeling sick during menses. Read more here
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The Billroth II procedure is a variation to the Billroth I procedure pioneered by Dr. Theodor Billroth in 1881. The procedure is a a "subtotal gastrectomy" where gastrointestinal continuity after the resection is attained with an anastomosis between the stomach and the jejunum, a gastrojejunostomy.
The procedure was originally performed as a way to resect peptic ulcers caused by hyperacidity. Billroth removed up to 70% of the stomach. Modern variations of the procedure are less agressive, resecting only 50% of the distal stomach (a hemigastrectomy), or an antrectomy.
The reason for the Billroth II variation is the difficulty performing a gastroduodenostomy. This can be caused by a short abdominal esophagus, a short proximal gastric pouch or other reasons. The accompanying image shows the digestive tract before the resection. The area to the resected (specimen) is grayed out. If you hover your cursor over the image you will see the completed Billroth II procedure.
In the completed procedure you can see A: The stapled-closed duodenal stump. B: The gastrojejunostomy that allows passage of food from the stomach into the jejunum, and C: the staple-closed gastric stump that is not part of the gastrojejunostomy. Bear in mind that this sketch depicts only one of the many ways of performing this procedure
Images property of:CAA.Inc. Artist:Dr. E. Miranda
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The Billroth I procedure was pioneered by Dr. Theodor Billroth in 1881. The original procedure was described as a "subtotal gastrectomy" where gastrointestinal continuity after the resection was attained with an anastomosis between the stomach and the duodenum, a gastroduodenostomy.
The procedure was originally performed as a way to resect peptic ulcers caused by hyperacidity. Billroth removed up to 70% of the stomach. Modern variations of the procedure are less agressive, resecting only 50% of the distal stomach (a hemigastrectomy), or an antrectomy.
After Billroth's pioneering work, several variations on the procedure appeared (Polya, Hofmeister) as well as different techniques (open vs. laparoscopic), and the use of different materials, starting with carbolized silk to the modern endolaparoscopic surgical staplers.
The accompanying image shows the digestive tract before the resection. The area to the resected (specimen) is grayed out. If you hover your cursor over the image you will see the completed Billroth I procedure.
In the completed procedure you can see A: The stapled-closed proximal gastric pouch. B: The duodenum. The red arrow points to the gastroduodenostomy, that is, the anastomosis between the stomach and the duodenum which in this case was done in the posterior aspect of the proximal gastric pouch. Bear in mind that this sketch depicts only one of the many ways of performing this procedure
Images property of: CAA.Inc. Artist:Dr. E. Miranda