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 suffix [-emia] is a derivate from the Greek word [αίμα] (ema) meaning "blood". The same word and meaning applies to the root terms [-hem-] and [-hemat-]. In the case of the suffix [-emia] there is the connotation of a "condition related to the blood". Applications of this suffix include:
- Hyperemia: The prefix [hyper-] means "over", "above" or "excessive". Refers to a condition where there is too much blood flow to an area of the body
- Anemia: The prefix [a-] means "absence"or "without". Refers to a condition where there are dangerous levels of blood in a patient
- Polycythemia: The prefix [poly-] means "many".The root term [-cyt-] means "cell", and the suffix [-emia] means "blood". Many cells in the blood, the opposite of "anemia"
- Hypoglycemia: The prefix [hypo-] means "under", "deficient" or "below".The root term [-glyc-] means "sugar". Low levels of blood sugars
- Hypercholesterolemia: The prefix [hyper-] means "over", "above" or "excessive". The root term [-cholesterol-] is self-explanatory. High levels of cholesterol in the blood
Note: The links to Google Translate include an icon that will allow you to hear the Greek or Latin pronunciation of the word.
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The prefix [-poly-] arises from the Greek word [πολλοί] (poli/pola) meaning "many". This is a widely used prefix in medical terminology as well as in everyday English. Applications of this prefix include:
- Polymorphous: Many shapes or forms
- Polycystic: Many cysts
- Polymyalgia: Pain in many muscles
- Polycythemia: The root term [-cyt-] means "cell", and the suffix [-emia] means "blood". Many cells in the blood, the opposite of "anemia"
- Polydactyly: The root term [-dactyl-] means "fingers", polydactyly is a condition where the patient has more fingers than normal
Note: The links to Google Translate include an icon that will allow you to hear the Greek or Latin pronunciation of the word.
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The word [uncus] is of Latin origin and means "hook", or "curved". Its plural form is [unci]. In human anatomy we refer to hooked structures as "uncus". The the uncus of the pancreas is a hooked end segment of the head of the pancreas that curves around the superior mesenteric artery and vein. There is also the uncus of the parahippocampal gyrus, and others
The derivate root term [-unci-] gives us the adjectival form [unciform] meaning "with the shape of a hook". Applications of this root term include:
• Uncinate process of the pancreas
• Uncinate vertebral process, found in cervical vertebrae 3 to 7.
• Uncinate process of the ethmoid bone
• Uncinate gyrus, referring to the uncus of the parahippocampal gyrus
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UPDATED: The term [ligament] in the abdominopelvic region has a very different meaning from the term [ligament] referring to a tendon-like structure associated with a joint. This is one of the terms that is used in different locations with different meaning.
The term [ligament] in the abdominopelvic region refers to a fold of peritoneum over an underlying structure or to a reduplication of the peritoneum. This is extremely important, as most abdominopelvic "ligaments" have a content that could be endangered through surgical manipulation.
There are many ligaments in the abdomen and pelvis. Following is a list of some of them:
- Infundibulopelvic ligament
- Ligament of Treitz
- Falciform ligament
- Round ligament of the uterus
- Median umbilical ligament
- Suspensory ligament of the sigmoid colon, etc
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The superior mesenteric artery (SMA) is one of the anterior unpaired branches of the abdominal aorta. It is close to one centimeter in diameter at its origin and is about 15 centimeters in length. At its origin, just inferior to the celiac trunk, it is directed anteroinferiorly, hugged by the head and uncinate process of the pancreas. The SMA passes over the transverse (3rd segment) of the duodenum where it is accompanied by the inferior mesenteric vein.
The SMA provides supply to the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, the right side of the colon (cecum, vermiform appendix, and ascending colon), and the transverse colon. The jejunal and ileal arteries traverse within the layers of the mesentery.
As the SMA passes over the third portion of the duodenum, and because of the angle formed between the SMA and the abdominal aorta, it slightly compresses the duodenum. In very rare cases, this angle can be so acute as to cause duodenal obstruction requiring surgery. This rare syndrome is called “SMA compression syndrome” was first described in 1861 by Baron Carl Freiherr Von Rokitansky (1804 -1878). To see an article with a better image of the SMA-abdominal aorta angle click here.