2013, Number 1
Medical eponyms throughout time
Peña PD
Full text
Language: Spanish
References: 8
Page: 36-39
PDF size: 701.50 Kb.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To explain the use of eponyms in medicine, their historic origin and importance.Development: A medical eponym is one whose meaning is associated with the name of the person who described it, literary personalities, patients, celebrities, geographical places, institutions, biblical figures and mythical beings. It is put forward that there is not always total certainty about the true origin of an eponym and that disputes were frequent about the awarding or not of a name according to the merits of the person who defended its precedence or the power of their followers or those of another. Doctors, because of the characteristics of their profession, have always been at the center of it all, be it daily in the community where they practice, or the longstanding associates of a country, region or the world. There are two principal factors that determine this singularity, on one side the call to service which converts them into true missionaries when they have assimilated the profound humanistic content of their work, and on the other the power given to them by the fact that in their hands the intimacy, the secrets and even the life of their patients.
Conclusions: Eponyms are widely used in medicine and are linked to the participation of different personalities in the development of medical sciences. The great scientists who created medical eponyms had an important role in the historical events of their time.
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