List of eponymous diseases
An eponymous disease is one that has been named after the person who first described the condition. This usually involves publishing an article in a respected medical journal. Rarely an eponymous disease may be named after a patient (examples include Christmas disease, Lou Gehrig's disease, Hartnup disease and Mortimer's disease).
Related disease namings include place names (Bornholm disease, Lyme disease, Ebola hemorrhagic fever) and even societies (Legionnaires' disease). These, however, are not eponyms.
Eponyms are a longstanding tradition in Western science and medicine. Being awarded an eponym is regarded as an honour: "eponymity, not anonymity, is the standard" (Merton R K, 1973). It is regarded as bad form to attempt to eponymise oneself. At a time when medicine lacked the tools to investigate the underlying causes of many syndromes, the eponym was a convenient mechanism for attaching a label to a disease. In order to freely discuss something, it must have a name.
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Punctuation
In 1975, the Canadian National Institutes of Health held a conference where the naming of diseases and conditions was discussed. This was reported in The Lancet (1975;1(7905):513, PMID 46972) where the conclusion was that "The possessive use of an eponym should be discontinued, since the author neither had nor owned the disorder." Medical journals, dictionaries and style guides remain divided on this issue.
Eponyms and alternatives
There is a trend away from the use of eponymous disease names towards a medical name that describes either the cause or the primary signs. Reasons for this include:
- The name confers no information other than the historical.
- There can be a Western bias to the choices.
- History sometimes shows the credit should have gone to a different person.
- Different countries may have different eponyms for the same disease.
- Several eponyms may turn out to be the same disease (example: amyloid degeneration is also called Abercrombie's disease, Abercrombie's syndrome, and Virchow's syndrome).
Arguments for maintaining eponyms include:
- The name may be more memorable and shorter than the medical one (the latter requiring abbreviation to its acronym)
- Sometimes the medical name proves to be incorrect.
- The syndrome may have more than one cause, yet it remains useful to consider it as a whole.
- It continues to give respect to a person who may otherwise have been forgotten.
Alphabetical list
A
- Aarskog-Scott syndrome – , Charles Scott
- Aase-Smith – ,
- Abdallat Davis Farrage syndrome – , ,
- Abderhalden-Kaufmann-Lignac syndrome – Emil Abderhalden, Eduard Kauffman, George Lignac
- Abercrombie disease – John Abercrombie
- Achard-Thiers syndrome – Emile Achard,
- Ackerman tumor –
- Addison disease – Thomas Addison
- – ,
- Aicardi syndrome –
- Alagille syndrome –
- Albers-Schönberg disease – Heinrich Albers-Schönberg
- Albright syndrome – Fuller Albright
- – Fuller Albright, ,
- – Fuller Albright,
- Alexander disease –
- Alice in Wonderland syndrome – Lewis Carroll's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
- Alpers disease –
- Alport syndrome –
- Alström syndrome –
- Alzheimer disease – Alois Alzheimer
- Anders disease –
- Andersen disease – Dorothy Andersen
- Anderson-Fabry disease – William Anderson,
- Angelman syndrome –
- –
- Anton-Babinski syndrome – Gabriel Anton, Joseph Babinski
- Apert syndrome – Eugène Apert
- – , Guillaume Duchenne
- – , Wilhelm Ebstein
- Arnold-Chiari malformation – , Hans Chiari
- Asherman syndrome –
- Asperger syndrome – Hans Asperger
- –
- Ayerza syndrome –
- – ,
B
- Babington disease –
- Babinski sign – Joseph Babinski
- Babinski-Fröhlich syndrome – Joseph Babinski, Alfred Fröhlich
- – Joseph Babinski, Jules Froment
- – Joseph Babinski, Jean Nageotte
- Baker cyst –
- Baló's disease or Balo concentric sclerosis –
- – Heinrich von Bamberger
- – , Pierre Marie
- Bancroft filariasis – Joseph Bancroft
- Bang's disease – Bernhard Bang
- –
- – Robert Bárány
- Barlow disease – Thomas Barlow
- Barlow syndrome –
- Barraquer-Simons syndrome – ,
- – Jean Alexandre Barré,
- Barrett's ulcer –
- – ,
- Bartholin cyst – Caspar Bartholin
- Bartter syndrome –
- Basedow disease – Karl Adolph von Basedow
- Basedow syndrome – Karl Adolph von Basedow
- Bassen-Kornzweig syndrome – ,
- Batten disease – Frederick Batten
- Bazin disease –
- Becker muscular dystrophy –
- Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome – ,
- Behçet disease – Hulusi Behçet
- – Vladimir Bekhterev
- Bell palsy – Charles Bell
- – Moritz Benedikt
- Benjamin syndrome –
- Berger's disease – Jean Berger
- –
- Bernard syndrome – Claude Bernard
- Bernard-Soulier syndrome – Jean Bernard, Jean Pierre Soulier
- – ,
- – Hippolyte Bernheim
- – Ernest Henri Besnier
- Besnier-Boeck-Schaumann disease – Ernest Henri Besnier, Cæsar Peter Møller Boeck, Jörgen Nilsen Schaumann
- Biermer anaemia – Michael Anton Biermer
- –
- Bilharzia –
- – ,
- Binswanger dementia – Otto Binswanger
- – , Paul Dudley White,
- Bloom syndrome – David Bloom
- –
- Boerhaave syndrome – Herman Boerhaave
- –
- Bonnevie-Ullrich syndrome – Kristine Bonnevie,
- Bourneville-Pringle disease – Désiré-Magloire Bourneville, John James Pringle
- Bowen disease –
- Brailsford-Morquio syndrome – ,
- –
- Brenner tumour – Fritz Brenner
- –
- Bright disease – Richard Bright
- – Nathan Brill,
- Brill-Zinsser disease – Nathan Brill, Hans Zinsser
- –
- Brissaud disease – Édouard Brissaud
- – Édouard Brissaud, Jean-Athanase Sicard
- – William Broadbent
- –
- Brodie abscess – Benjamin Collins Brodie
- – Benjamin Collins Brodie
- –
- Brown-Séquard syndrome – Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard
- Brucellosis – David Bruce
- Brugada syndrome
- – Ludwig Bruns
- – ,
- Budd-Chiari syndrome – , Hans Chiari
- Buerger disease – Leo Buerger
- –
- – ,
- Burkitt lymphoma – Denis Parsons Burkitt
- –
- Bywaters syndrome –
C
- – ,
- –
- Canavan disease – Myrtelle Canavan
- – Walter Cannon
- Capgras syndrome – Joseph Capgras
- Caplan's syndrome –
- Caroli syndrome –
- – Daniel Alcides Carrión
- Castleman disease –
- – ,
- Chagas disease – Carlos Chagas
- – Jean-Martin Charcot
- Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease – Jean-Martin Charcot, Pierre Marie, Howard Henry Tooth
- – Walter Butler Cheadle
- Chédiak-Higashi syndrome – ,
- – Johann Baptist Chiari,Richard Frommel
- Chilaiditi syndrome –
- – , ,
- – ,
- Christmas disease – Stephen Christmas
- Churg-Strauss syndrome – ,
- – Henri Claude
- Clerambault syndrome – Gaëtan Gatian de Clerambault
- – Gaëtan Gatian de Clerambault, Victor Khrisanfovich Kandinsky
- Coats disease –
- – Edward Cock
- Cockayne syndrome – Edward Alfred Cockayne
- Cogan's syndrome –
- Colles' fracture – Abraham Colles
- – Frédéric Justin Collet, Jean-Athanase Sicard
- –
- Conn's Syndrome –
- Cooley's anemia –
- Cori Disease – Carl Ferdinand Cori
- Cornelia de Lange syndrome –
- –
- – Count Chocula
- Crigler-Najjar syndrome – ,
- – , Richard Cassirer
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease – Hans Gerhard Creutzfeldt, Alfons Maria Jakob
- Crohn's disease – Burrill Bernard Crohn
- – ,
- Crouzon syndrome – Octave Crouzon
- – Jean Cruveilhier, Paul Clemens von Baumgarten
- –
- Curling's ulcer – Thomas Blizard Curling
- Curschmann-Batten-Steinert syndrome – , Frederick Batten,
- Cushing's disease – Harvey Cushing
D
- – Jacob Mendez Da Costa
- – John Dalrymple
- – ,
- de Quervain's disease – Fritz de Quervain
- Dejerine-Sottas disease
- Denys-Drash syndrome
- Dent's disease
- Devic's disease
- Di Guglielmo's disease
- Donovanosis
- Down syndrome – John Langdon Down
- Dressler's syndrome
- Duane syndrome
- Dubin-Johnson syndrome
- Duchenne muscular dystrophy
- Duncan's syndrome[1]
- Dupuytren's contracture
- DiGeorge syndrome
E
F
- Fabry's disease
- Fanconi anaemia
- Farber's disease
- Felty's syndrome-
- Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome
- Fournier gangrene
- Forbe's disease (see Glycogen storage disease type III)
- Friedreich's ataxia
G
- Gaucher's disease
- Ghon focus – Anton Ghon
- Gilbert syndrome – Augustin Nicolas Gilbert, French gastroenterologist
- Graves' disease
- Graves-Basedow disease – , Karl Adolph von Basedow
- Grawitz tumor (nephrocellular carcinoma) – Paul Albert Grawitz, German pathologist
- Guillain-Barré syndrome – Georges Guillain, Jean Alexandre Barré
- Gunther's disease
H
- Hallervorden-Spatz disease
- Hansen disease – Gerhard Armauer Hansen
- Hartnup disease
- – Hakaru Hashimoto
- Heyde's syndrome
- Hirschsprung disease – Harald Hirschsprung, Danish physician
- Hodgkin disease, Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma – Thomas Hodgkin
- Huntington disease
- Henoch-Schönlein purpura
J
K
- Kahler's disease
- Kanner syndrome – Leo Kanner (this name is rarely used now)
- Kaposi sarcoma – Moritz Kaposi, Hungarian dermatologist
- Kawasaki disease
- Kearns-Sayre syndrome
- Kienbock's disease
- Kimmelstiel-Wilson disease
- Kjer's optic neuropathy– , Danish ophthalmologist
- Klatskin's tumor
- Klinefelter's syndrome
- Klüver-Bucy syndrome
- Korsakoff syndrome
- Krabbe's disease
- King-Kopetzky syndrome
L
- Lafora's disease
- Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease
- Leigh's disease
- Lesch-Nyhan syndrome
- Letterer-Siwe disease
- Lev's disease
- Libman-Sacks disease
- Lobomycosis
- Lou Gehrig's disease
- Ludwig's angina
- Lynch syndrome
M
- Machado-Joseph disease (Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3)
- Maladie de Charcot, French name for Motor Neurone Disease – Jean-Martin Charcot, a French neurologist
- Mallory-Weiss syndrome – G. Kenneth Mallory and Soma Weiss
- Marburg multiple sclerosis – Otto Marburg
- Marfan syndrome
- Marshall-Smith syndrome – and
- McArdle's Disease
- McCune-Albright syndrome – and Fuller Albright
- Ménétrier's disease
- Ménière’s disease – Prosper Meniere
- Menkes disease
- Minamata disease – Minamata, Japan
- Mondor's disease
- Monge's disease
N
O
- Ondine's curse
- Osgood-Schlatter disease
- Osler-Weber-Rendu (Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia)
P
- Paget's disease of bone (* Paget's disease)
- Paget's disease of the breast (* Paget's disease of the nipple)
- Paget's disease of the penis
- Parkinson's disease – Dr. James Parkinson
- Patau syndrome
- Pelizeus-Merzbacher disease
- Peyronie's disease –
- Pick's disease – Arnold Pick
- Pickardt syndrome
- Plummer's disease
- Poland's syndrome – Sir Alfred Poland
- Pompe's disease
- Pott's disease – Percivall Pott
- – Percivall Pott
- Potter's syndrome – Dr.
- Prader-Willi syndrome – Dr. Andrea Prader, (Alexis Labhart) and Dr. Heinrich Willi
- Prinzmetal angina –
R
- Ramsay Hunt syndrome – James Ramsay Hunt, American neurologist
- Raynaud's disease – Maurice Raynaud, French physician
- Refsum's disease
- Reiter's syndrome
- Rett Syndrome – , Austrian pediatrician
- Reye's syndrome
- Riggs' disease –
- Riley-Day syndrome
- Ritter's disease
- – , Guatemalan physician
- Rotor syndrome – , Filipino internist
- Rubenstein-Taybi syndrome
S
- Salmonella – Daniel Elmer Salmon
- Schilder's disease
- – Drs. Albert Schinzel and Andreas Giedion, who first described the syndrome in a professional journal
- Sever's disease
- Simmond's Disease
- Sjogren's syndrome
- Steele-Richardson-Olszewski syndrome
- Stevens-Johnson syndrome
- Sturge-Weber disease
- Still's disease
- Susac's syndrome
T
- Takayasu's arteritis
- Tangier disease
- Tay-Sachs disease
- Tourette syndrome – Georges Albert Édouard Brutus Gilles de la Tourette
- Treacher Collins syndrome is the common name for mandibulofacial dysostosis
- Turcot syndrome
- Turner's syndrome – Henry Turner
U
V
- Vincent's angina
- Virchow's syndrome
- Von Gierke's disease
- Von Hippel-Lindau disease – Dr. Eugen von Hippel; Arvid Vilhelm Lindau, Swedish pathologist
- Von Recklinghausen's disease (* neurofibromatosis)
- Von Willebrand's disease – Erik Adolf von Willebrand
W
- Waldenstrom's macroglobulinaemia
- Warkany syndrome (trisomy)
- Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome
- Weber-Christian disease
- Wegener's granulomatosis
- Werner's syndrome
- Wernicke's encephalopathy
- Whipple's disease – George Hoyt Whipple
- Wilms' tumor – Dr , a German surgeon
- Wilson's disease
- Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome – , Robert Aldrich
- Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome
- Wolman disease
- Williams syndrome
X Y Z
See also
- List of eponymous medical signs for a list of medical signs named after people.
- List of eponyms for a complete list of eponyms sorted by name
- Lists of etymologies
- Syndrome
External links
- WhoNamedIt.com, a site dedicated to medical eponyms and their namesakes.
- What's in a Name: The Eponymic Route to Imortality
- The most mispronounced eponyms