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Jean George Bachmann
(1877 – 1959)
French physician–physiologist whose experimental work in the early twentieth century provided the first clear functional description of a preferential interatrial conduction pathway. This structure, eponymically named “Bachmann’s bundle”, plays a central role in normal atrial activation and in the pathophysiology of interatrial block and atrial arrhythmias.
As a young man, Bachmann served as a merchant sailor, crossing the Atlantic multiple times. He emigrated to the United States in 1902 and earned his medical degree at the top of his class from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1907. He stayed at this Medical College as a demonstrator and physiologist. In 1910, he joined Emory University in Atlanta. Between 1917 -1918 he served as a medical officer in the US Army. He retired from Emory in 1947 and continued his private medical practice until his death in 1959.
On the personal side, Bachmann was a man of many talents: a polyglot, he was fluent in German, French, Spanish and English. He was a chef in his own right and occasionally worked as a chef in international hotels. In fact, he paid his tuition at Jefferson Medical College, working both as a chef and as a language tutor.
The intrinsic cardiac conduction system was a major focus of cardiovascular research in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The atrioventricular (AV) node was discovered and described by Sunao Tawara and Karl Albert Aschoff in 1906, and the sinoatrial node by Arthur Keith and Martin Flack in 1907.
While the connections that distribute the electrical impulse from the AV node to the ventricles were known through the works of Wilhelm His Jr, in 1893 and Jan Evangelista Purkinje in 1839, the mechanism by which electrical impulses spread between the atria remained uncertain.
In 1916 Bachmann published a paper titled “The Inter-Auricular Time Interval” in the American Journal of Physiology. Bachmann measured activation times between the right and left atria and demonstrated that interruption of a distinct anterior interatrial muscular band resulted in delayed left atrial activation. He concluded that this band constituted the principal route for rapid interatrial conduction.
Subsequent anatomical and electrophysiological studies confirmed the importance of the structure described by Bachmann, which came to bear his name. Bachmann’s bundle is now recognized as a key determinant of atrial activation patterns, and its dysfunction is associated with interatrial block, atrial fibrillation, and abnormal P-wave morphology. His work remains foundational in both basic cardiac anatomy and clinical electrophysiology.
Sources and references
1. Bachmann G. “The inter-auricular time interval”. Am J Physiol. 1916;41:309–320.
2. Hurst JW. “Profiles in Cardiology: Jean George Bachmann (1877–1959)”. Clin Cardiol. 1987;10:185–187.
3. Lemery R, Guiraudon G, Veinot JP. “Anatomic description of Bachmann’s bundle and its relation to the atrial septum”. Am J Cardiol. 2003;91:148–152.
4. "Remembering the canonical discoverers of the core components of the mammalian cardiac conduction system: Keith and Flack, Aschoff and Tawara, His, and Purkinje" Icilio Cavero and Henry Holzgrefe Advances in Physiology Education 2022 46:4, 549-579.
5. Knol WG, de Vos CB, Crijns HJGM, et al. “The Bachmann bundle and interatrial conduction” Heart Rhythm. 2019;16:127–133.
6. “Iatrogenic biatrial flutter. The role of the Bachmann’s bundle” Constán E.; García F., Linde, A.. Complejo Hospitalario de Jaén, Jaén. Spain
7. Keith A, Flack M. The form and nature of the muscular connections between the primary divisions of the vertebrate heart. J Anat Physiol 41: 172–189, 1907.
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The word [proptosis] is composed of the prefix [pro-] meaning “forward”, the root term [-pt-] from the Greek [πτώση] (ptosi) which meaning “to fall”, and the suffix [-osis] meaning “condition”. Literal interpretation of the term would be “condition of falling forward”. Sometimes [–ptosis] can be considered a suffix, meaning “to sag” or "to droop".
Proptosis is used in medical terminology to describe a forward bulging to the eyes, similar to exophthalmos. The only difference is that the term exophthalmos is usually reserved to forward displacement of the eye related to or secondary to endocrinological dysfunction. All other eye protrusions are referred to as [proptosis
Proptosis can be caused by trauma, localized inflammation of the orbital tissues not related to thyroid dysfunction, tumors, etc.
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The word [exophthalmos] is composed of the prefix [ex-] meaning “outer” or “outside”, the root term [-ophthalm-] which arises from the Greek word [οφθαλμός] (ophthalm?s) meaning “eye”, and the adjectival suffix [-os] meaning “pertaining to”. Literal interpretation of the term would be “pertaining to outside the eye”.
In reality the word [exophthalmos] is used to describe a condition where the eye is pushed anteriorly, protruding or bulging within the eye orbit. This condition can be unilateral or bilateral.
The term exophthalmos is usually reserved to forward displacement of the eye related to or secondary to endocrinological dysfunction. All other eye protrusions are referred to as [proptosis]. More on this word can be read on this article.
Thyroid dysfunction can lead to inflammation of the orbital tissues, including muscle and fatty tissues, causing edema and forward displacement of the eye.
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The root term [-ophthalm-] arises from the Greek word [οφθαλμός] (ophthalm?s) meaning “eye” or "optic". It is used in several medical terms such as:
- Ophthalmology: The suffix [-ology] means “to study”. The study of the eye
- Ophthalmologist: A health care professional who specialized in eye diseases
- Ophthalmic: The adjectival suffix [-ic] means “pertaining to” and can be seen in anatomical terms such as the ophthalmic artery
- Ophthalmitis: The suffix [-itis] means “inflammation” or “infection”.
- Ophthalmoscope: An instrument to view the eye
- Anophthalmia: The prefix [an-] means "without" or "absence of". A congenital condition where one or both eyes do not develop
- Exophthalmos: The prefix [ex-] means "outer" or "outside". A protrusion of the eyes
Image by Rhcastilhos [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
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UPDATED: The root term [-mast-] arises from the Greek [μαστός] or [mastos] meaning "breast". A synonymous prefix is [mamm-] from the Latin [mamma], also meaning "breast". This prefix is used in medical terms such as:
- Mastectomy: The suffix [ectomy] means "removal of". Removal of the breast. This is an old operation, the first known records are from 180 A.D. The modern operation for radical mastectomy with careful removal of the related lymphatics was developed by William Halsted (1852 - 1922). The synonym [mammectomy] is correct, though rarely used. The word [masectomy] to refer to this procedure is incorrect and should not be used
- Mastoptosis: The suffix [-(o)ptosis] means "to fall", "to sag" or "go down". A falling or sagging of the breast. (Syn. mammoptosis)
- Mastoid: The suffix [oid] means "similar to". Similar to a breast or with the shape of a breast, such as the mastoid process, a bony prominence of the temporal bone. See accompanying image
- Mastoplasty: The suffix [-(o)plasty] is used to mean "surgical reshaping". Surgical reshaping of the breast. Better known as a mammoplasty
- Mastopexy: A type of mastoplasty. The suffix "opexy" is used to mean "surgical fixation". Surgical fixation of the breast. In a mastopexy, the breast is "fixed" higher to reduce the mastoptosis. (Syn. mammopexy)
There is an interesting evolution of this word. The above applies only when the term [-mast-] is used as a root term, and combined with other word components. From the Greek, this term was passed on to Latin and thence evolved with the German term [m?sten] meaning "to feed" or "to fatten". This is why we have [mast cells] in histology. These are a type of mononuclear leukocyte described by Paul Ehrlich (1814 - 1915) in 1879, who named them [maztellen], which in German means "a well-fed cell".
For images of mastoptosis and mastopexy, CLICK HERE. Warning: images depict nude bodies.
Sources:
1. "The Origin of Medical Terms" Skinner, HA 1970 Hafner Publishing Co.
2. "Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary" 28th Ed. W.B. Saunders. 1994
3. "Medical Terminology; Exercises in Etymology" Dunmore CW, Fleischer RM 2nd Ed. 1985
4. "Medical Meanings; A Glossary of Word Origins" Haubrich, WS. Am Coll Phys 1997
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UPDATED: The term [fascia] means "band or bandage". It is derived from the Latin word [fascis] meaning "bundle", therefore a fascia is the bandage that ties a bundle. A bundle of sticks tied around an ax was the symbol of the lictors, the Roman imperial bodyguards. Many fasciae (Pl.) are eponymic, such as Camper's Fascia, Scarpa's fascia, Colle's fascia, etc.
In anatomy, the word [fascia] refers to a sheet of connective tissue. The term encompasses many types of fasciae (plural for fascia) which range from the thin deep or muscular fascia to the tendon-like thick fascia lata of the thigh. The image shows the anterior aspect of the thigh and its covering, the fascia lata. The opening shown in the fascia lata is the fossa ovalis of the thigh. Do not confuse with the fossa ovalis found in the interatrial wall of the heart. Click on the image for a larger depiction.
In the extremities, some fasciae may contain more than one muscle, creating fascial compartments. Trauma or vascular pathology in a fascial compartment may cause the muscles to swell to the point that the edema starts causing ischemia compromising the muscles to the point of necrosis. This is called "compartment syndrome" and may require a surgeon to cut open the fascia to relieve the pressure, a procedure called a "fasciotomy". For more information on [-otomy], click on this link.
Original images by Henry VanDyke Carter, MD and links courtesy ofbartleby.com
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The term [urination] comes from the Greek [ούρα] meaning "urine" and refers to the "expulsion of urine". The term [micturition] has a Latin origin and refers to the "desire to empty the urinary bladder". Through use, these two terms have become synonymous.
Although the common use of [urination] is the act of bladder emptying, the proper use of the term describes the constant passage of urine from the ureters into the urinary bladder. The proper term for bladder emptying is [micturition].
The fact is that we are constantly urinating (right now as your are seated in front of your computer), but only micturate a few times a day.
Original images by Henry VanDyke Carter, MD and links courtesy ofbartleby.com