Giovanni Battista Morgagni (1682 - 1771). Italian anatomist, physician, and pathologist, Morgagni was born in the city of Forli. He started his medical studies at the University of Bologna, graduating in 1701 with a degree in Medicine and Philosophy. In 1712 he became a professor of anatomy at the University of Padua, Italy, 175 years after Andreas Vesalius. Morgagni was offered and accepted the Chair of Anatomy in 1715 at the University of Padua. Although Morgagni held a position at the anatomy department of the University of Padua, his name is associated mostly with his pathological studies.

Morgagni was interested in the works of Theophile Boneti (1620 - 1689), who started analyzing the correlation between post-mortem anatomical findings and diseases. He tried to establish a relation between the disease and the cause of death. In 1761 Morgagni published his most influential work "De Sedibus et Causis Morburum Per Anatomen Indagatis"  (On the Sites and Causes of Diseases, Investigated by Dissection). His work was essential for pathological anatomy to be recognized as a science in itself.

• Morgagni's caruncle or lobe, referring to the miidle lobe of the prostate
• Morgagni's columns: the anal (or anorectal) colums
• Morgagni's concha, referring to the superior nasal concha
• Morgagni's foramina: two hiatuses in the respiratory diaphragm allowing for passage of the superior epigastric vessels
• Morgagni's hernia: an hiatal hernia through Morgagni's foramen, in the respiratory diaphragm
• Morgagni's ventricle: an internal pouch or dilation between the true and false vocal cords in the larynx
• Morgagni's nodules: the nodules at the point of coaptation of the leaflets (cusps) of the pulmonary valve. Erroneously called the "nodules of Arantius", which are only found in the aortic valve

Sources:
1. "A Note From History:The First Printed Case Reports of Cancer" Hadju, S.I. Cancer 2010;116:2493–8
2. "Giovanni Battista Morgagni" Klotz, O. Can Med Assoc J 1932 27:3 298-303
3. "Morgagni (1682 -1771)" JAMA 1964 187:12 948-950
Original imagecourtesy of National Institutes of Health.

The term [lumen] is Latin and means "light". It is an international measure of light intensity. The plural form is either [lumens] or the Latin version [lumina].

The question is how did this term end up meaning the "internal opening or cavity of a hollow organ"? Dr. J. Dirckx (1976) explains that the term [lumen] in gastrointestinal anatomy was not used until the late 19th century, but it was initially used by microscopists looking at cross sections of small vessels. Since the empty interior of the vessel was represented on the histological slide as a clear, lighted region, they started calling that the "light" of the vessel, or [lumen].

The root term for [lumen] is [-lumin-] and can be found in over 30 words in English and related to light, such as luminosity, luminaria, luminescent, luminous, illumination,  illuminator, intraluminal, transluminal, endoluminal, etc.

See how you can "illuminate" this article by hovering your cursor over the light bulb!

Sources:
1. "The Language of Medicine" John H. Dirckx Pub: Harper & Row 1976
2. "Medical Meanings" Haubrich, William S. Am Coll Phys Philadelphia 1997
3. "The origin of Medical Terms" Skinner, AH, 1970

An esophageal hiatus hernia (also known as a hiatal hernia) eventually may require surgery. In this case, the objective is three-fold: To bring the abdominal viscera to its proper intraabdominal position (reduction) , to create a pseudovalve to prevent gastroesophageal reflux, and to prevent a recurrence of the herniation.

There have been different  procedures developed to this effect. One of the most popular has been the Nissen fundoplication either trough the open surgery approach or by way of a minimally invasive laparoscopic procedure.

Original image courtesy of Wikipedia.org.

Since the introduction of this open procedure in 1955 there have been several variations, such as the "Nissen-Rosetti" procedure, a "loose" fundoplication; the "Toupet" procedure, an "incomplete" fundic wrap, and others, including laparoscopic procedures.

The term [hiatus] derives from the Latin word [hiare], meaning to "gape" or to "yawn". In human anatomy this term is used to mean an "opening" or a "defect". It must be pointed out that in anatomy (and surgery) the term "defect" does not necessarily mean "defective". In most cases a "defect" is a normal opening in a structure, such as the esophageal hiatus. The plural form is either [hiatus] or [hiatuses].

There are many hiatuses in the human body, such as:

• Hiatus semilunaris: a crescent-shape opening in the lateral aspect of the nasal wall
• Esophageal hiatus: an opening in the muscular posterior aspect of the respiratory diaphragm, bound by two muscular crura
• Aortic hiatus: an opening in the posterior aspect of the respiratory diaphragm, bound by two tendinous crura
• Hiatus Fallopii: the entrance to the facial canal, an opening in the temporal bone allowing for passage of the facial nerve (CN V). Named after Gabrielle Fallopius

The respiratory diaphragm is a musculotendinous dome-shaped shelf that divides the thoracic cavity from the abdominal cavity. It is one of the four named diaphragms in human anatomy. This is why it is proper to call it the "respiratory diaphragm" instead of just "diaphragm".

The name comes from the Greek, where the prefix [dia-] means "complete" or "through" and [phragm] means "a partition". In Latin, Celsus called it the "septum transversum", meaning "the transverse partition". The root term for [diaphragm] is [-phren-], as in phrenic nerves and cardiacophrenic vessels.

The respiratory diaphragm has a club-shaped central tendon (as in a card suit) which has a large hiatus for the inferior vena cava. The muscular portion is formed by skeletal (voluntary) muscle and descends skirt-like to attach to the internal aspect of the sternum and ribs anterolaterally, and a complex system of lumbocostal tendinous arches posteriorly.

The respiratory diaphragm has not one, but seven openings (hiatuses) to allow for passageway of many structures:

• Esphageal hiatus
• Aortic hiatus
• Inferior vena cava hiatus
• Hiatuses (2) for the superior epigastric vessels, which are the inferior continuation of the internal thoracic (mammary) vessels. Also known as the hiatuses of Morgagni.
• Hiatuses (2) for the splanchnic nerves

The most common site for an internal abdominothoracic herniation is the esophageal hiatus, but there are other respiratory diaphragm hernias, including the retrosternal hernia of Morgagni (through the superior epigastric hiatus), and the hernia of Bochdalek (a congenital hernia through an incomplete central tendon of the respiratory diaphragm).

The jejunum is an intraperitoneal organ, it is the second portion of the small intestine and part of the digestive tract. It begins at the duodenojejunal junction  where it is related to the ligament of Treitz, and extends 8 to 9 feet, continuing distally with the ileum.

Being intraperitoneal, it is anchored to the posterior abdominal wall by the double-layered mesentery through which the jejunum receives its blood and nerve supply. At the root (base) of the mesentery are the superior mesenteric vessels.

The Latin word [jejunis] means "empty" or "fasting". The Latin term [jejunum] was used by the Romans to denote the first meal of the day, breakfast, when you have an "empty" stomach. The term was associated with this segment of the small intestine, as it is most of the time found empty in cadavers being dissected.

There is no clear anatomical boundary between the jejunum and ileum, as they blend smoothly one into the other. There are several gross changes from jejunum to ileum, one of them being that the complexity of the mesenteric arterial arches increases from proximal to dista. See the accompanying image. Click on it for a larger depiction.

Sources:
1. "Clinically Oriented Anatomy" Moore, KL. 3r Ed. Williams & Wilkins 1992
2. "The origin of Medical Terms" Skinner, AH, 1970
Images and links courtesy of Bartleby.com