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 523 guests and no members online
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.
"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 word [hygiene] is defined as the "science of the establishment and maintenance of health"(Merriam-Webster). Another definition is "conditions or practices conducive to maintaining health and preventing disease, especially through cleanliness".
In Greek mythology Hygeiea [Υγιείας] is the goddess of health, one of the daughters of Aesculapius, who is himself the god of Medicine. Aesculapius was represented as a figure leaning on a staff around which a serpent is coiled.
The Greek word [υγιής], a derivative from the name of the goddess Hygieia means "healthy", "sound" or "strong", and became the root for our modern word [hygiene]. Because of its mythological origin, there must be something to the saying "cleanliness is next to godliness".
The image of the statue of Hygieia acompanying this article is known as the "Hope Hygieia" and is on display at the J. Paul Getty Museum. The statue shows Aesculapius' snake, a symbol of renovation. This statue was discovered in 1797 at the port of Ostia in Rome. The statue was restored, de-restored, and re-restored. For more information of this statue's history CLICK HERE.
- Details
Click for a larger image
The term [cancer] is Latin and means "crab". The word was first used by Galen of Pergamon (129AD - 200AD) who used it to describe the crab-like appearence of the veins of a cancerous tumor, probably a breast cancer. Galen said "... as a crab's feet extend from every part of its body, so in this disease are the veins distended, forming a similar figure". The term cancer is also used in other applications, such as astronomy (Tropic of Cancer) and astrology, as in the zodiacal sign of Cancer.
The Latin term [cancer] was probably pronounced "kanker" and this may be the origin of the term [canker] to refer to ulcerations around the mouth or angles of the mouth, canker sores. This is also probably the origin of the term [chancre] used for some dried-out sore wounds.
Greek terms merged into the New Latin, so the Greek terms derived from [karkinos] also made it into modern medical terminology.
The word [cancer] is used today to denote a malignant tumor. There are variations of the term using the root term [-carcin-] as in [carcinoma].
The accompanying image is that of a colon specimen with a cancerous tumor. If you click on the image a larger depiction of a cancer of the breast will appear. WARNING: This secondary image could be disturbing to some of our readers.
Sources
1. “A Dictionary of Medical Derivations" Casselman W. Parthenon Publishing, 1997
2. "The origin of Medical Terms: Skinner, 1970
3. "Cancer - Wikipedia"
Images in the public domain, courtesy of Wikipedia
Personal note: This article is published in memory of my cousin Hugo Barahona who passed away on January 1st 2014 with a cancerous pathology. May he rest in peace. Dr. Miranda
- Details
Click for a larger image
The term [obstetrics] arises from the Latin word [obstare] which means "to stand close to" or "to stand in front of". Since a midwife "stands" in front of the patient for child delivery, the word was used in its feminine singular form [obstetrix]. The Latin plural is [obstetrices]; The evolution of the term into modern "obstetrics" is quite clear.
Through the ages the term used for someone who helps deliver a child has changed. Andreas Vesalius used the term [obstetrices nutrices] meaning "nurse midwife". The term "midwife" was used for a long time, being replaced today for the word "obstetrics" and "obstetrician".
Although all female reproductive system care was originally the domain of midwives, through time two distinct specialties have evolved. Gynecology refers to the medical specialty that studies and treats the female reproductive system. Obstetrics, deals with the care of the pregnant patient and delivery of the fetus. Male-widwives in Europe were allowed access to the patient only with the use of a "modesty blanket". This is plate XV from the 1681 book "Korte en Bondige Van Der Voortteeling en Kinderbaren" by Samuel Janson.
As an interesting side note in history, the first male physician to attempt to work as a man-midwife was Dr. Wertt from Hamburg. Dr Wertt decided to disguise himself as a woman to attend patients. When he was discovered, the punishment was "swift and salutary": He was burned at the stake.
Word suggested and edited by: Dr. Sanford S. Osher , MTD Contributor- Details
This article is part of the series "A Moment in History" where we honor those who have contributed to the growth of medical knowledge in the areas of anatomy, medicine, surgery, and medical research.
Avicenna
Avicenna (980 AD – 1037 AD) Persian physician, philosopher, mathematician, naturalist, geologist, musical theorist, astronomer and poet. Ab? Al? al-Hysayn ibn-‘Abd-All?h ibn-S?na, also known as “ibn-S?na“ and as “Avicenna” was born in Afshaneh, near the city of Bokhara (in old Persia, what today is Iran) in 980AD.
Intellectually gifted, Avicenna studied philosophy and the Islam religion, with early studies in medicine. By age 18 he was already a famous physician. With access to the royal library Avicenna continued his studies and traveled through what today is Iran. Avicenna had government positions, becoming prime minister. Jailed for political reasons Avicenna wrote a large number of his medical, philosophical, and astronomical publications while in jail.
Of over 450 total medical books attributed to Avicenna, his most famous publication was the “al-Qanun-fi-al-Tibb” or the “Canon of Medicine”, consisting of five books on principles of medicine, diseases, drugs, and compound medicines. The Canon was translated into Latin and later into other languages, remaining an important book for at least until the 16th century.
He used the term “vermis” and spoke of the “tailed nucleus”, known to us as the “caudate nucleus”. Avicenna died in 1037AD at 57 years of age. He was buried in the city of Hamadh?n, where his tomb still exists. Avicenna has been called the “prince of physicians”.
Sources
1. “Avicenna” Koontz AR JAMA. 1962;179(1):99
2. "Honoring Avicenna, the Great Persian Physician on the World's Postage Stamps". Afshar, A. Arch Iranian Med (1029-2977), 13 (5), 447
3. "Avicenna and the Canon of Medicine: A millennial tribute" West J Med 133:367-370, Oct 1980
4. “Avicenna (980–1037 AD) Zargaran, A, et al. J Neurol (2012) 259:389–390 5. “Avicenna” JAMA 177:704 (1961)
Original image courtesy of NLM
- Details
Click for a larger image
The root term [-salping-] arises from the Greek [σάλπιγγα] or [salpinx], meaning "trumpet" or "bugle". Because of their trumpet shape, there are two anatomical structures where this term applies, one is the uterine or Fallopian tube, and the other is the auditory or Eustachian tube.
This root term is used in medical terms such as:
- Salpingitis: An inflammation or infection of the Fallopian (uterine) tube
- Salpingectomy: Removal of one or both Fallopian tubes
- Salpingopharyngeus: A muscle that extends between the Eustachian (auditory) tube and the pharynx
- Salpingooophorectomy: This combined root term adds the root [-oophor-] meaning ovary. The suffix [-ectomy] means "removal". The removal of the uterine tubes and the ovaries. This operation can be unilateral or bilateral.
Because of the rules of combination for root terms, the commonly used hyphenated [salpingo-oophorectomy] form of this word is not correct and should not be used.
Image modified from the original from Testut and Latajet, 1931. Public domain.
- Details
Click for a larger image
The term [scalpel] arises from the Latin word [scalpellum], meaning “a small knife”. Celsus (c.25BC - c.50BC) in De Re Medicina, uses the term [scalpellus] to refer to a surgeon’s knike.
The use of knives in Medicine is very old. 10,000 year old Mesolithic skulls have been found with craniotomies made with flint stone knives. The first one to describe surgical knives in recorded history was Hippocrates of Cos (460 BC - 370 BC).
Surgical knives were developed in a multitude of shape and forms, some of them veritable works of art. These scalpels were made by cutlery makers on demand by surgeons and had a fixed blade that had to be sharpened constantly, as surgery requires a very sharp blade.
The invention of the disposable razor by King Gillette in 1904 changed this. In 1910, Dr. John Benjamin Murphy (1857 – 1916) invented a handle that could hold a single-sided or a double-sided safety razor blade.
The design was improved by the invention of a disposable, sterilized surgical blade that could be easily installed on a reusable, sterilizable metal handle. Today sterile, disposable handle-blade combination scalpels of varying shapes and sizes are available, ensuring the surgeon the sharpest scalpel every time.
Sources
1. “The surgical knife” Ochsner J. Tex Heart Inst J. 2009; 36(5): 441–443
2. "History of the Surgical Blade" Shuja, A. Indep Rev Oct-Dec 2012;14(10-12)
3. "Masters of the Scalpel: The History of Surgery"" Riedman SR, R MacNally 1962
Images in the public domain, courtesy of Wikipedia