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 2095 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
The medical prefix [hemi-] means “half”. It is also the basis for the prefix [semi-] , also meaning “half”. We can see this term used in many medical terms such as:
- Hemisphere: literally “half a sphere”, as in the case of the cerebral hemispheres
- Hemiplegic: Paralized only on one half of the body
- Hemialgia: Pain on one half (of the body)
- Hemicephalalgia: Pain on one half of the head, a migraine
- Semilunar: Half a moon, name used for the aortic and pulmonary valves
- Details
Click for a larger image
The eponym “ring of Vieussens” refers to a collateral circulation anastomotic communication between the right conal artery and the left conal artery. This communication, when present, is a potential life-saving pathway when there is stenosis or obstruction at the origin of either the right or the left coronary arteries, allowing blood to bypass the blockage.
This anastomosis is sometimes evident, although sometimes when the anastomosis is not seen on the surface of the heart, there is the possibility that the anastomosis is present subepicardially as demonstrated in the 2014 study by Loukas et al.
This ring is demonstrated in the accompanying image. For a three-dimensional volume–rendered CT demonstrating Vieussens’ collateral pathway please click here. For the full 2006 article by Hansen, click here.
Image property of CAA, Inc. Artist: Victoria Ratcliffe.
- Details
Anterior view of the heart
The conal artery is the first anterior branch that arises from the right coronary artery. It can be double or multiple and it provides blood supply to the superior aspect of the conus arteriosus region (outflow tract) of the right ventricle. It is also known as the “conus artery”, and the “infundibular artery”. In about 50% of the cases the conal artery arises separately from the aorta, very close to the ostium of the right coronary artery. In this case the artery has been dubbed the “third coronary”.
In many cases, a secondary conal artery arises from the anterior interventricular (LAD) artery and is called the “left conal artery”. In some cases this left conal artery can be the only one present and there may be no “right” conal artery. When both conal arteries are present, in some cases and evident superficial anastomosis can be seen forming what is known as the “conal ring” or the “ring of Vieussens”, one of the few cases where there is actual collateral circulation between the right and the left coronary arteries.
Sources:
1. “The clinical anatomy of the conal artery” Loukas, M el al. J Clin Anat 2014 DOI: 10.1002/ca.22469
2. “The Clinical Anatomy of the Coronary Collateral Circulation: Loukas, M, et al J Clin Anat (2009) 22:146–160
3. “The Normal and Abnormal Anatomy of the Coronary Arteries” Loukas, M et al J Clin Anat (2009) 22:114–128
4 "Tratado de Anatomia Humana" Testut et Latarjet 8 Ed. 1931 Salvat Editores, Spain
5. "Anatomy of the Human Body" Henry Gray 1918. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger
Image modified by CAA, Inc, Original image courtesy of bartleby.com
- Details
Anterior view of the heart
The conus arteriosus is a conical region of the right ventricle as seen from the anterior aspect. This conical region is found between the atrioventricular sulcus on the right side and the left anterior descending artery (LAD), also known as the anterior interventricular artery. At the apex of the conus arteriosus are the pulmonary valve and the pulmonary trunk.
A short fibrous band has been described originating from the superior aspect of the conus arteriosus and the fibrous region of the atrioventricular sulcus and the base of the aorta. It is called the “conus arteriosus tendon”.
Internally the conus arteriosus is smooth-walled and is called by clinicians the “outflow tract” of the right ventricle. Because of the funnel-shape of the outflow tract and its continuation with the pulmonary trunk this area is also called the “infundibulum” of the right ventricle.
Blood supply to the conus arteriosus is by way of the conal artery. This is usually the first anterior branch of the right coronary artery
Sources:
1. “The clinical anatomy of the conal artery” Loukas, M el al. J Clin Anat 2014 DOI: 10.1002/ca.22469
2. “The Clinical Anatomy of the Coronary Collateral Circulation: Loukas, M, et al J Clin Anat (2009) 22:146–160
3. “The Normal and Abnormal Anatomy of the Coronary Arteries” Loukas, M et al J Clin Anat (2009) 22:114–128
4 "Tratado de Anatomia Humana" Testut et Latarjet 8 Ed. 1931 Salvat Editores, Spain
5. "Anatomy of the Human Body" Henry Gray 1918. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger
Image modified by CAA, Inc, Original image courtesy of bartleby.com
- Details
Click for a larger image
The limbus of the fossa ovalis (limbus fossae ovalis) is a muscular ridge that borders the fossa ovalis, an oval-shaped depression found in the interatrial septum, on the right atrium side.
The limbus fossae ovalis is best developed superiorly and to the sides of the fossa ovalis. It is deficient and not as evident in the inferior aspect, as seen in the accompanying image.
Several authors have described the limbus fossa ovalis as a part of the conduction system of the heart facilitating the distribution of the electrical stimulus from the sinuatrial (SA) node to the atrioventricular (AV) node and as part of Bachman’s bundle.
The limbus fossae ovalis is known by the eponym “the ring or anulus of Vieussens”
Sources:
1. “The development of the limbus fossae ovalis in the human heart—a new septum” Christie, GA. J Anat. Jan 1963; 97: 45–54
2. “The Limbic Ledge: A Landmark for Transseptal Left Heart Catheterization” Bloomfield, DA and Sinclair-Smith BC. Circulation. 1965;31:103-107
3. “Cardiac Arrhythmia: Mechanisms, Diagnosis, and Management” Podrid, PJ; Kowey, PR Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2001
4. “Electrical Connections: The Precise Location and Preferential Conduction” Sakamoto, SI et al. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2005;16(10):1077-1086
- Details
Click for a larger image
UPDATED: The word [limbus] is Latin and means "edge", "fringe", or "border". In Medieval Latin the limbus was considered to be an area on the edge of hell where souls waited for their final judgment.
In human anatomy the term is used to mean an "edge", a "border", or a "boundary", such as the limbus of the eye, the border between the iris and the cornea. For an image of the corneal limbus click here.
Another example is the "limbus fossa ovalis", or the "ring or anulus of Vieussens" a muscular border to the fossa ovalis of the heart.
By extension, the term also applies to the limbic system, a group of nuclei, sulci and gyri of the brain found bordering the corpus callosum. The limbic system is involved in emotions, depression, motivation, learning, and memory.