Modern Use of Eponyms

I love eponyms!

I'm a bit sad that eponyms—terms that include a proper name—are going out of style in the world of human sciences, it seems.

Paul Langerhans

The international lists of anatomic terminology recommend against most eponyms, providing descriptive terms in their place.  For example, pancreatic islet is the term  preferred to the eponym islet of Langerhans.  Osteon is preferred over haversian system.

Of course, I get that.  Descriptive terms are more intuitive and therefore easier to understand, learn, and remember. Related to that is that they are more accurate when it comes to medical applications.  And I'm all about accuracy in the medical professions.

It's just kind of fun using eponyms.  And kind of sad to feel like I am leaving behind all those wonderful women and men who discovered our parts way back when.

But it's not just the international lists of anatomy that are leaving eponyms behind—all the "authorities," including most medical textbooks are doing it. Professional societies, associations, and boards in the basic sciences and the health professions are doing it.  So if we want to be "in style" with our terminology—and more importantly, make sure our students are sporting the latest linguistic style—we'd better pay attention to the trends, eh?

Let me give you some unasked-for fashion tips if you want to be stylish in your use of professional terminology:

Avoid eponyms

If there's an accepted descriptive term, it's best to use that rather than the eponym.

Be bilingual

Some folks you'll encounter are old-fashioned or possibly don't know the newer descriptive term.  Or they know both and use them interchangeably.  Because we're on the cusp of a fashion revolution here, the most competent professionals will know both and be able to switch back and forth easily as the context requires. The goal is to understand and be understood, right?

What to do if you have to use an eponym

Then use an eponym! There are some commonly used terms for which there really isn't a great descriptive term to replace an eponym.  For example, Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, and other disorders often don't have a widely accepted alternative. So absolute avoidance of eponyms is not (yet) possible.

Fashionable uses of eponyms

If you must use an eponym, the trendy folks at AMA and elsewhere avoid the use of possessive forms.  For example, notice how I used the term Parkinson disease above and not Parkinson's disease?  It's better to use Down syndrome than Down's syndrome—and even better to use trisomy 21 syndrome.

Likewise, the possessive loop of Henle is out of favor but using Henle loop may still get you into most of the trendy clubs.

Illusory eponym styles

When you try to get away with using a possessive form of an eponym and yet still avoid arrest by the fashion police, you have to be very cunning.  Here's a common way that's done: use the adjective form of a proper name.  So if you want to honor Gabriele Falloppio's work in describing uterine tubes, then use his Latinized name (Fallopius) in the form of an adjective and call them Fallopian tubes.

Gabriele Falloppio

But, you may say, that's not a very clever masking of the fact that it's an eponym. In fact, it's pretty obvious, right?  Well here's the sly part: cover it up by using a lowercase letter—thus obscuring the fact that it incorporates a proper noun. That's why many sources use fallopian tube instead of Fallopian tube.

Terms like eustachian tube and haversian canal may not seem like well-hidden eponyms in our context here, where we're actually focusing on eponyms. But most grand stage illusions—like Blackstone's making an elephant appear on stage from thin air—rely on such subtle misdirection.

So when you are using an adjective form of an eponym, it's best not to capitalize it and risk possible arrest by the fashion police.

Fashion rules are not really rules

With any fashion, the "rules" are not usually rules in the formal sense.  They are simple formulations of trends that, if heeded, will likely save you some embarrassment when you don't appear to be cool.  So if you have a good reason—or even a lame reason—to ignore these rules, I think you'll probably survive. People laugh (even hoot) at my disregard for current clothing fashion all the time—you get used to it.

OK, sometimes fashion rules really are rules

As with any professional communication, sometimes fashion rules get set in stone in a required style to which you must adhere in your work.  Sort of like a dress code for words. For example, students learn how to use professional styles when we require that they submit their assignments in APA, Chicago, or CBE style. Likewise, in publishing journal articles, books, and other works, there are rules established that provide consistency—and, therefore, also accuracy.  Each publisher, sometimes each journal or textbook, has it's own house style that defines such things. So if your journal editor insists on Eustachian tube instead of auditory tube or eustachian tube, then I recommend doing it.  Retro, in some contexts, can be cool.

Adapted from The A&P Professor

What Is an Eponym?

In professional terminology, an eponym is a term that is based upon a proper name.

eponym
EP-oh-nim
epo- upon, -nym name

For example, the term Parkinson disease is a term that includes the proper name of the physician James Parkinson, who is credited with first describing the condition in detail. Another example is the loop of Henle, which is a kidney tubule segment named after the German anatomist who discovered it—Friedrich Henle.

As these examples imply, eponyms are often based on the name of the discoverer of the condition, process, or structure represented by the term.

But sometimes, eponyms are instead based on the name of a patient with the condition represented.  For example, the Duffy blood group was named for the first patient in which this antigen was identified.  I guess that was before HIPAA and its strict restrictions on revealing patient names!

Similarly, Legionnaires disease was named after the participants in an American Legion convention where an early outbreak of the condition occurred.

The wonderful thing about eponyms is that they get us thinking about the history of medical science—who the important characters were and how discoveries were made.  But the downside of eponyms is that history and fascinating stories are not very useful in the moment we need to use them.

Paul Broca

Because eponyms are terms that tend to obscure, rather than clarify, their practical meaning, they are falling out of favor.  Eponyms are giving way to descriptive terms that more clearly summarize their working definitions. For example, it is far more useful to call a brain region the motor speech area than the Broca area.  The former tells one both its location in the brain (the motor area of the cerebral cortex) and its function. The latter tells you who first described it—a brilliant guy with massive sideburns—which is interesting but not immediately useful.

In health professions, how accurately we communicate is important.  Why? Because even a subtle miscommunication can result in a tragic mistake in providing needed care to patients. So in the end, the shift away from eponyms and toward more descriptive terminology may actually save lives!

In an upcoming post, we'll explore eponyms a bit by focusing on the shift in preferences in eponym usage.  And, as we march on, I'll be telling some of the odd and interesting stories behind the eponyms.

Gray anatomy or grey anatomy?

When you are looking at nervous tissue, do you discuss GRAY matter or do you discuss GREY matter? or does it really matter?

Yes, it does matter. It depends on whether you are communicating in a United States (U.S.) dialect of English or a United Kingdom (U.K.) dialect of English.

Ordinarily, in U.S. English, the color is spelled GRAY.  In U.K. English, the color is usually spelled GREY.

Actually, in U.K. English, one would state, "the colour is grey" because of the color/colour difference in spelling.

But does spelling matter?  I say YES.

My reasons are spelled out in detail in the article Does Spelling Matter? at The A&P Student. In that article, I discuss the fact that in the health professions, spelling errors are a grave matter of safety. Even small differences in spelling can have unintended, tragic consequences. And that means that during the training of health professionals, we should do all we can to learn how to communicate perfectly—and thereby learn to communicate safely.

I'll get back to the importance of spelling in a subsequent article.  For now, let's focus on the idea that U.S. and U.K. English have some differences in spelling, a few of which I summarize below.

Quick points about U.S. versus U.K. spelling differences

Professional communication requires correct spelling

• Correct spelling avoids confusion and mistakes in communication
• In the health professions, correct spelling is therefore a safety factor

Correct spelling in English varies from region to region

• It is best to use the spelling correct to your particular regional context

Because communication is global, we frequently encounter regional variations

• To avoid confusion, it best to be familiar with spellings used in other regions

U.K. English is not universal outside the U.S.

• Canada, Australia, and some other regions use a mix of U.S. and U.K. spellings
• Even in the U.K., some have adopted selected U.S. spellings

There are exceptions to every rule

• Specific institutions and publications sometimes adopt spelling styles not typical of their regions
• Some disciplines and specialties have adopted their own spelling styles, regardless of region
• Some people have accidentally picked up spellings from outside their region and therefore use a mix of regional spelling styles
• Some U.S. spellings are commonly (and correctly) used in the U.K. and some U.K. spellings are commonly (and correctly) used in the U.S.

Be resilient

• Language is dynamic, producing regional dialects and spelling styles—so be on the lookout for changes as your regional language evolves

Some examples of U.S. versus U.K. spelling differences

The e/ae/oe vowels

Some words in U.S. English that use the e vowel instead use the ae or oe  diphthong in U.K. English.

U.S.	U.K.
fetus	foetus
esophagus	oesophagus
feces	faeces
hemoglobin	haemoglobin
estrogen	oestrogen
cecum	caecum
anesthesia	anaesthesia

The -er/-or endings

Some words in U.S. English that end in -er instead end in -re in U.K. English.

U.S.	U.K.
meter	metre
centimeter	centimetre
liter	litre
milliliter	millilitre
center	centre
fiber	fibre

The -or/-our endings

Some words in U.S. English that end in -or instead end in -our in U.K. English.

U.S.	U.K.
flavor	flavour
color	colour
labor	labour
behavior	behaviour
humor	humour

The -ize/-ise endings

Some words in U.S. English that end in -ize instead end in -ise in U.K. English.

U.S.	U.K.
organize	organise
visualize	visualise
organize	organise
characterize	characterise
metastasize	metastasise

The -yze/-yse endings

Some words in U.S. English that end in -yze instead end in -yse in U.K. English.

U.S.	U.K.
lyze	lyse
hydrolyze	hydrolyse
catalyze	catalyse
paralyze	paralyse

The -og/-ogue endings

Some words in U.S. English that end in -og instead end in -ogue in U.K. English.

U.S.	U.K.
catalog	catalogue
homolog	homologue
analog	analogue

Miscellaneous spelling differences

Some words in U.S. English have any of a variety of spelling differences in U.K. English.

U.S.	U.K.
gray	grey
disk	disc
glycerin	glycerine
mold	mould
neuron	neurone
sulfur, sulfate	sulphur, sulphate
anesthesia	anaesthesia

There are many other spelling differences among various dialects of English, but these examples give you sense of the concept.

Gray's Anatomy

Primed by the title of this article, you may be wondering which of these is proper:

Gray's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy

It depends.

If you are referring to the classic anatomical treatise originally penned by Henry Gray and illustrated by Henry Vandyke Carter, then you should use Gray's Anatomy.

If instead you are referring to a television series featuring the character Meredith Grey, then you should use Grey's Anatomy.  The creators of this show about medical professionals intentionally played on the popularity of the anatomy reference—but in doing so, probably confused a lot of people!

What, if anything, is o-log-y?

After having published other blogs for students and teachers of human anatomy and physiology, it occurs to me that one of the biggest struggles is becoming immersed in a whole new terminology.  

Okay, that didn't just occur to me.  What recently came to mind is the idea of producing a blog for the specific issue of learning the language of human science and medicine. 

So here it is!

Looking ahead, I think I'll be covering concepts like these:

• Tricky issues like Latin pluralization
• Pronunciation issues
• How word parts work, including how terms are built and alternate meanings of word parts
• Where the terminology comes from
• Eponyms
• How to use them
• Why avoid them
• Who those people are or were
• Dissecting specific terms to learn more about their meanings
• Tips on using terminology
• Weird terms or usages
• Terminology trivia

Some of my blog posts will be basic and others will be more advanced.

If you teach in the human sciences, you may want to use the more basic posts to help your students by including links to them in your syllabus, course website or learning management system, or discussions and email messages with your students.  The more advanced posts may help you clarify some of the gaps in your own working knowledge of terminology.

If you are a student of the human sciences, both the basic and advanced posts will help you become more deeply immersed in a new language.  That can only help you better understand concepts and how they are explained or communicated to you.

If you have an ideas for topics, requests, tips, or puzzles you'd like help in solving, please contact me!

The title of this blog is o-log-y.  I derived that name from a dissection of the "-ology" phrase appended to many terms that describe fields of study, such as biology (the scientific study of life) and etymology (the linguistic study of word origins).

[o- combining form, -log- words (study of), -y activity]