An eponymous disease is a disease, disorder, condition, or syndrome named after a person, usually the physician or other health care professional who first identified the disease; less commonly, a patient who had the disease; rarely, a literary or theatrical character who exhibited signs of the disease or the subject of an allusion, as its characteristics were suggestive of symptoms observed in the disorder.
Naming systems
Eponyms are a longstanding tradition in Western science and medicine. Being awarded an eponym is regarded as an honor: "Eponymity, not anonymity, is the standard." The scientific and medical communities regard it as bad form to attempt to form eponyms after oneself.
Ideally, to discuss something, it should have a name. When medicine lacked diagnostic tools to investigate and definitively pinpoint the underlying causes of most diseases, assigning an eponym afforded physicians a concise label for a symptom cluster versus cataloguing the multiple systemic features that characterized a patientâÂÂs illness.
Most commonly, diseases are named for the person, usually a physician, but occasionally another health care professional, who first described the conditionâÂÂtypically by publishing an article in a respected medical journal. Less frequently, an eponymous disease is named after a patient, examples being Lou Gehrig disease, Christmas disease, and Hartnup disease. In the instance of MachadoâÂÂJoseph disease, the eponym is derived from the surnames of two families in which the condition was initially described. Examples of eponyms named for persons who displayed characteristics attributed to a syndrome include: Lazarus syndrome, named for a biblical character; and Miss Havisham syndrome, named for a Dickens character, and Plyushkin syndrome, named for a Gogol character, both fictional persons (the latter two also happen to be alternative names for the same symptom complex). Two eponymous disorders that follow none of the foregoing conventions are: Fregoli delusion, which derives its name from an actor whose character shifts mimicked the delusion it describes; and, Munchausen syndrome which derives from a literary allusion to Baron von Munchausen, whose personal habits were suggestive of the symptom cluster associated with it.
Disease naming conventions which reference place names (such as Bornholm disease, Lyme disease, and Ebola virus disease) are properly termed toponymic, although an NLM/NIH online publication described them as eponymic. Diseases named for animals with which they are associated, usually as a vector, are properly styled as zoonymic; cat scratch fever and monkeypox are examples. Those named for association with a particular occupation or trade, such as nun's knee, tennis elbow, and mad hatter's disease, are properly described as occupational diseases.
In May 2015, the World Health Organization, in collaboration with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), released a statement on the Best Practices for the Naming of New Human Infectious Diseases "with the aim to minimize unnecessary negative impact of disease names on trade, travel, tourism or animal welfare, and avoid causing offence to any cultural, social, national, regional, professional or ethnic groups." These guidelines emerged in response to backlash against people and places, based on the vernacular names of infectious diseases such as Middle East respiratory syndrome, and the 2009 swine flu pandemic. These naming conventions are not intended to replace the International Classification of Diseases, but rather, are guidelines for scientists, national authorities, the national and international media and other stakeholders who may be the first to discuss a disease publicly.
Punctuation
In 1975, the Canadian National Institutes of Health held a conference that discussed the naming of diseases and conditions. This was reported in The Lancet where the conclusion was summarized as: "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. European journals tend towards continued possessive use, while US journals are largely discontinuing to do so. Trends in possessive usage vary among countries, journals, diseases.
The problem is that the possessive case received its misleading name for historical reasons and now even educated people, if they are not linguists, often make incorrect assumptions and decisions based on the name. Nevertheless, native speakers would neither accept the awkward construction "men department" as an alternative to "men's department" nor claim that the obligatory apostrophe in any way implies that men possess the department.
This case was termed the genitive until the 18th century and (like the genitive case in other languages) expresses much more than possession. For example, in the expressions "the school's headmaster" and "tomorrow's weather", the school does not own/possess the headmaster and tomorrow does not/will not own the weather. Disagreements about the use of possessive forms of nouns and of the apostrophe are due to the opinion that no apostrophe should be used, unless it is intended to express possession.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage says:
The dictionary also cites a study which found only 40% of possessive forms used to indicate actual possession.
Autoeponym
Associating an individual's name with a disease merely based on describing it confers only an eponymic; the individual must have been either affected by the disease or have died from it for the name to be termed auto-eponymic. Thus, an 'auto-eponym' is a medical condition named in honor of: a physician or other health care professional who was affected by or died as a result of the disease which he had described or identified; or, a patient, who was not a health care professional, but suffered from or died as a result of the disease. Auto-eponyms may use either the possessive or non-possessive form, with the preference to use the non-possessive form for a disease named for a physician or health care professional who first described it and the possessive form in cases of a disease named for a patient (commonly, but not always, the first patient) in whom the particular disease was identified. Autoeponyms listed in this entry conform to those conventions with regard to possessive and non-possessive forms.
Examples of autoeponyms include:
- Rickettsiosis: in 1906, Howard Taylor Ricketts discovered that the bacteria that causes Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is carried by a tick. He injected himself with the pathogen.
- Thomsen's disease: an autosomal dominant myotonia of voluntary muscles described by Asmus Julius Thomas Thomsen about himself and his family members.
- Carrion disease: Peruvian medical student Daniel Alcides Carrión inoculated himself with Bartonella bacilliformis in 1885 to prove the link to this disease, characterized by "Oroya fever".
- Lou Gehrig's disease: although Gehrig, a New York Yankees player of the early twentieth century, was not the first patient described as having amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the association of such a prominent individual with the then little-known disease resulted in his name becoming eponymous with it.
Continued Use of Eponyms
A current trend seeks to step away from use of eponymous disease names in favor of medical naming that focuses on causation or primary signs.
Arguments for this movement include that:
- a national or ethnic bias may attach to the eponym chosen;
- credit should have gone to a different person;
- the same eponym may be applied to different diseases, causing confusion;
- several eponyms refer to the same disease (e.g., amyloid degeneration is variously called Abercrombie disease, Abercrombie syndrome, and Virchow syndrome);
- an eponym may prove to be invalid (e.g., LaurenceâÂÂMoonâÂÂBardetâÂÂBiedl syndrome, in which findings in the patients of Laurence and Moon were later found to differ from those of Bardet and Biedl).
- an eponym would honor an individual who has been otherwise discredited. An example is Wegener's Granulomatosis; it was renamed granulomatosis with polyangiitis due to Dr. Wegener's Nazi ties.
- its referent varies by country (e.g., sideropenic dysphagia is PlummerâÂÂVinson syndrome in the US and Australia, both PatersonâÂÂKelly syndrome and PatersonâÂÂBrown-Kelly syndrome in the UK, and WaldenstromâÂÂKjellberg syndrome in Scandinavia).
Arguments for maintaining eponyms include that:
- an eponym may be shorter and more memorable than the medical name;
- a medical name may prove to be incorrect;
- a syndrome may have more than one cause, yet it remains useful to consider the totality of its features;
- it continues to respect a person who may otherwise be forgotten.
Alphabetical list
Explanation of listing sequence
As described above, multiple eponyms can exist for the same disease. In these instances, each is listed individually (except as described in item 1 below), followed by an in-line parenthetical entry beginning 'aka' ('also known as') that lists all alternative eponyms. This facilitates the use of the list for a reader who knows a particular disease only by one of its eponyms, without the necessity of cross-linking entries.
It sometimes happens that an alternative eponym, if listed separately, would immediately alphabetically precede or succeed another eponymous entry for the same disease. One of three conventions have been applied to such cases:
1. No separate entry appears for the alternative eponym. It is listed only in the parenthetical 'aka' entry (e.g., Aarskog syndrome appears only as a parenthetical 'aka' entry to AarskogâÂÂScott syndrome).
2. If eponymous names subsequent to the first are sequenced differently or the eponym is differentiated by another term (e.g., disease versus syndrome), alphabetical sequence dictates which is the linked version versus which is listed as the alternative (e.g., AbderhaldenâÂÂKaufmannâÂÂLignac is the linked entry and AbderhaldenâÂÂLignacâÂÂKaufmann is the parenthetical 'aka' alternative entry).
3. If the number of names included in two or more eponyms varies, the linked entry is the one which includes the most individual surnames (e.g., AlpersâÂÂHuttenlocher syndrome is the linked entry for the disease also known as Alpers disease or Alpers syndrome).
Some eponyms have an alternative entry that includes the name(s) of additional individuals. An example is Adams-Stokes syndrome; one of its alternative eponyms is GerbecâÂÂMorgagniâÂÂAdamsâÂÂStokes syndrome. The entry for Adams-Stokes syndrome only names the two individuals (Adams and Stokes) whose names are associated with the entry as listed; a later, separate, entry for the alternative GerbecâÂÂMorgagniâÂÂAdamsâÂÂStokes syndrome names all four of the individuals (Gerbec, Morgani, Adams, and Stokes) who are associated with the longer-named entry.
A
- AarskogâÂÂScott syndrome (aka Aarskog syndrome) â Dagfinn Aarskog, Charles I. Scott Jr.
- AaseâÂÂSmith syndrome (aka Aase syndrome) â Jon Morton Aase, David Weyhe Smith
- AbdallatâÂÂDavisâÂÂFarrage syndrome â Adnan Al Abdallat, S.M. Davis, James Robert Farrage
- AbderhaldenâÂÂKaufmannâÂÂLignac syndrome (aka AbderhaldenâÂÂLignacâÂÂKaufmann disease) â Emil Abderhalden, Eduard Kauffman, George Lignac
- Abercrombie disease (aka Abercrombie syndrome) â John Abercrombie
- AchardâÂÂThiers syndrome â Emile Achard, Joseph Thiers
- Ackerman tumor â Lauren Ackerman
- AdamsâÂÂOliver syndrome â Robert Adams, William Oliver
- AdamsâÂÂStokes syndrome (aka GerbecâÂÂMorgagniâÂÂAdamsâÂÂStokes syndrome, GerbeziusâÂÂMorgagniâÂÂAdamsâÂÂStokes syndrome, StokesâÂÂAdams syndrome) â Robert Adams, William Stokes
- Addison disease â Thomas Addison
- AdsonâÂÂCaffey syndrome â Alfred Washington Adson, I. R. Caffey
- Aguecheek's disease â Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Shakespearean literary character
- AhumadaâÂÂDel Castillo syndrome â Juan Carlos Ahumada Sotomayor, Enrique Benjamin Del Castillo
- Aicardi syndrome â Jean Aicardi
- AicardiâÂÂGoutières syndrome â Jean Aicardi, Francoise Goutieres
- Alagille syndrome â Daniel Alagille
- Albers-Schönberg disease â Heinrich Albers-Schönberg
- Albright disease (aka Albright hereditary osteodystrophy, Albright syndrome, McCuneâÂÂAlbright syndrome) â Fuller Albright
- AlbrightâÂÂButlerâÂÂBloomberg disease â Fuller Albright, Allan Macy Butler, Esther Bloomberg
- AlbrightâÂÂHadorn syndrome â Fuller Albright, Walter Hadorn
- Albright IV syndrome (aka MartinâÂÂAlbright syndrome) â Fuller Albright
- Alexander disease â William Stuart Alexander
- AlibertâÂÂBazin syndrome â Jean-Louis-Marc Alibert, Pierre-Antoine-Ernest Bazin
- Alice in Wonderland syndrome (aka Todd syndrome) â Alice, literary character in works of Lewis Carroll
- AlpersâÂÂHuttenlocher syndrome (aka Alpers disease, Alpers syndrome) â Bernard Jacob Alpers, Peter Huttenlocher
- Alport syndrome â Arthur Cecil Alport
- Alström syndrome â Carl Henry Alström
- Alvarez syndrome â Walter C. Alvarez
- Alzheimer disease â Alois Alzheimer
- Anders disease â James Meschter Anders
- Andersen disease â Dorothy Hansine Andersen
- AndersenâÂÂTawil syndrome (aka Andersen syndrome) â Ellen Andersen, Al-Rabi Tawil
- AndersonâÂÂFabry disease â William Anderson, Johannes Fabry
- Angelman syndrome â Harry Angelman
- Angelucci syndrome â Arnaldo Angelucci
- AntonâÂÂBabinski syndrome (aka Anton syndrome) â Gabriel Anton, Joseph Babinski
- Apert syndrome â Eugène Apert
- AranâÂÂDuchenne disease (aka AranâÂÂDuchenne spinal muscular atrophy) â François-Amilcar Aran, Guillaume Duchenne
- Arboleda-Tham Syndrome â Valerie A. Arboleda, Emma Tham
- ArnoldâÂÂChiari malformation â Julius Arnold, Hans Chiari
- Asherman syndrome â Joseph Asherman
- Asperger syndrome (aka Asperger disorder) â Hans Asperger
- Avellis syndrome â Georg Avellis
- AyerzaâÂÂArrillaga syndrome (aka AyerzaâÂÂArrillaga disease, Ayerza disease, Ayerza syndrome) â Abel Ayerza, Francisco Arrillaga
B
- Baastrup disease â Christian Ingerslev Baastrup
- Babesiosis â Victor BabeÃÂ
- Babington disease â Benjamin Babington
- BabinskiâÂÂFröhlich syndrome â Joseph Babinski, Alfred Fröhlich
- BabinskiâÂÂFroment syndrome â Joseph Babinski, Jules Froment
- BabinskiâÂÂNageotte syndrome â Joseph Babinski, Jean Nageotte
- Baker cyst â William Morrant Baker
- BallerâÂÂGerold syndrome â Friedrich Baller, M Gerold
- Balo concentric sclerosis (aka Balo disease) â József Mátyás Baló
- Bamberger disease â Heinrich von Bamberger
- BambergerâÂÂMarie disease â Eugen von Bamberger, Pierre Marie
- BamforthâÂÂLazarus syndrome â J Steven Bamforth, John Lazarus
- Bancroft filariasis â Joseph Bancroft
- Bang disease â Bernhard Bang
- Bankart lesion â Arthur Sidney Blundell Bankart
- BannayanâÂÂRileyâÂÂRuvalcaba syndrome â George A. Bannayan, Harris D. Riley Jr., Rogelio H. A. Ruvalcaba
- BannayanâÂÂZonana syndrome â George A. Bannayan, Jonathan X. Zonana
- Banti syndrome â Guido Banti
- Bárány syndrome â Robert Bárány
- BardetâÂÂBiedl syndrome (formerly, aka LaurenceâÂÂMoonâÂÂBardetâÂÂBiedl syndrome, a construct now deemed invalid. For fuller explanation, see LaurenceâÂÂMoonâÂÂBardetâÂÂBiedl syndrome) â Georges Bardet, Arthur Biedl
- Barlow disease â Thomas Barlow
- Barlow syndrome â John Barlow
- BarraquerâÂÂSimons syndrome â Luis Barraquer Roviralta, Arthur Simons
- BarréâÂÂLiéou syndrome â Jean Alexandre Barré, Yang-Choen Liéou
- Barrett ulcer â Norman Barrett
- BartâÂÂPumphrey syndrome â R. S. Bart, R. E. Pumphrey
- Barth syndrome â Peter Barth
- Bartholin cyst â Caspar Bartholin
- Bartter syndrome â Frederic Bartter
- Basedow coma â Karl Adolph von Basedow
- Basedow disease (aka Basedow syndrome, Begbie disease, Flajan disease, FlajaniâÂÂBasedow syndrome, Graves disease, GravesâÂÂBasedow disease, Marsh disease, Morbus Basedow) â Karl Adolph von Basedow
- Basedow ocular syndrome â Karl Adolph von Basedow
- BassenâÂÂKornzweig syndrome â Frank Bassen, Abraham Kornzweig
- Batten disease â Frederick Batten
- Bazin disease â Pierre-Antoine-Ernest Bazin
- Becker muscular dystrophy â Peter Emil Becker
- BeckwithâÂÂWiedemann syndrome â John Bruce Beckwith, Hans-Rudolf Wiedemann
- Behçet disease â Hulusi Behçet
- Bekhterev disease â Vladimir Bekhterev
- Bell palsy â Charles Bell
- Benedikt syndrome â Moritz Benedikt
- Benjamin syndrome â Erich Benjamin
- BerardinelliâÂÂSeip congenital lipodystrophy â Waldemar Berardinelli, Martin Seip
- Berdon syndrome â Walter Berdon
- Berger disease â Jean Berger
- Bergeron disease â Etienne-Jules Bergeron
- BernardâÂÂHorner syndrome (aka Horner syndrome) â Claude Bernard, Johann Friedrich Horner
- BernardâÂÂSoulier syndrome â Jean Bernard, Jean Pierre Soulier
- BernhardtâÂÂRoth paraesthesia â Martin Bernhardt, Vladimir Karlovich Roth
- Bernheim syndrome â P. I. Bernheim
- Besnier prurigo â Ernest Henri Besnier
- BesnierâÂÂBoeckâÂÂSchaumann disease â Ernest Henri Besnier, Cæsar Peter Møller Boeck, Jörgen Nilsen Schaumann
- Biermer anaemia â Michael Anton Biermer
- Bietti crystalline dystrophy â G. Bietti
- Bickerstaff brainstem encephalitis â Edwin Bickerstaff
- Bilharzia â Theodor Maximilian Bilharz
- Binder syndrome â K.H. Binder
- BingâÂÂHorton syndrome â Paul Robert Bing, Bayard Taylor Horton
- BingâÂÂNeel syndrome â Jens Bing, Axel Valdemar Neel
- Binswanger dementia â Otto Binswanger
- BirtâÂÂHoggâÂÂDubé syndrome â Arthur Birt, Georgina Hogg, William Dubé
- BlandâÂÂWhiteâÂÂGarland syndrome â Edward Franklin Bland, Paul Dudley White, Joseph Garland
- BlochâÂÂSulzberger syndrome â Bruno Bloch, Marion Baldur Sulzberger
- Blocq disease (aka Blocq syndrome) â Paul Blocq
- Bloom syndrome â David Bloom
- Blount syndrome â Walter Putnam Blount
- Boerhaave syndrome â Herman Boerhaave
- Bogorad syndrome â F.A. Bogorad
- BonnevieâÂÂUllrich syndrome â Kristine Bonnevie, Otto Ullrich
- BournevilleâÂÂPringle disease â Désiré-Magloire Bourneville, John James Pringle
- Bowen disease â John T. Bowen
- Brachman de Lange syndrome â Winfried Robert Clemens Brachmann, Cornelia Catharina de Lange
- BrailsfordâÂÂMorquio syndrome â James Frederick Brailsford, LuÃÂs Morquio
- Brandt syndrome â Thore Edvard Brandt
- Brenner tumour â Fritz Brenner
- Brewer kidney â George Emerson Brewer
- Bright disease â Richard Bright
- BrillâÂÂSymmers disease â Nathan Brill, Douglas Symmers
- BrillâÂÂZinsser disease â Nathan Brill, Hans Zinsser
- Briquet syndrome â Paul Briquet
- Brissaud disease â ÃÂdouard Brissaud
- BrissaudâÂÂSicard syndrome â ÃÂdouard Brissaud, Jean-Athanase Sicard
- Broadbent apoplexy â William Broadbent
- Broca aphasia â Pierre Paul Broca
- Brock syndrome â Russell Claude Brock
- Brodie abscess â Benjamin Collins Brodie
- Brodie syndrome â Benjamin Collins Brodie
- Brooke epithelioma â Henry Ambrose Grundy Brooke
- Brown-Séquard syndrome â Charles-ÃÂdouard Brown-Séquard
- Brucellosis â David Bruce
- BruckâÂÂde Lange disease â Franz Bruck, Cornelia Catharina de Lange
- Brugada syndrome â Pedro Brugada, Josep Brugada
- BrunsâÂÂGarland syndrome â Ludwig Bruns, Hugh Garland
- Bruns syndrome â Ludwig Bruns
- BrutonâÂÂGitlin syndrome â Ogden Carr Bruton, David Gitlin
- BuddâÂÂChiari syndrome â George Budd, Hans Chiari
- Buerger disease â Leo Buerger
- Bumke syndrome â Oswald Conrad Edouard Bumke
- BürgerâÂÂGrütz syndrome â Max Burger, Otto Grutz
- Burkitt lymphoma â Denis Parsons Burkitt
- Burnett syndrome â Charles Hoyt Burnett
- Bywaters syndrome â Eric George Lapthorne Bywaters
C
- CaffeyâÂÂSilverman syndrome â John Patrick Caffey, William Silverman
- Calvé disease â Jacques Calvé
- CamuratiâÂÂEngelmann disease (aka CamuratiâÂÂEngelmann syndrome) â M. Camurati, G. Engelmann
- Canavan disease â Myrtelle Canavan
- Cannon disease â Abernathy Benson Cannon
- Cantú syndrome â José MarÃÂa Cantú
- Capgras delusion (aka Capgras syndrome) â Jean Marie Joseph Capgras
- Caplan syndrome â Anthony Caplan
- Carney complex â J. Aidan Carney
- Carney triad â J. Aidan Carney
- CarneyâÂÂStratakis syndrome â J. Aidan Carney, C. A. Stratakis
- Caroli syndrome â Jacques Caroli
- Carrion disease â Daniel Alcides Carrión
- Castleman disease â Benjamin Castleman
- CéstanâÂÂChenais syndrome â ÃÂtienne Jacques Marie Raymond Céstan, Louis Jean Chennais
- Chagas disease â Carlos Chagas
- Charcot disease â Jean-Martin Charcot
- CharcotâÂÂMarieâÂÂTooth disease â Jean-Martin Charcot, Pierre Marie, Howard Henry Tooth
- Charles Bonnet syndrome â Charles Bonnet
- Cheadle disease â Walter Butler Cheadle
- ChédiakâÂÂHigashi syndrome â Alexander Chédiak, Otokata Higashi
- Chiari malformation â Hans Chiari
- ChiariâÂÂFrommel syndrome â Johann Baptist Chiari, Richard Frommel
- Chilaiditi syndrome â Demetrius Chilaiditi
- ChristâÂÂSiemensâÂÂTouraine syndrome â Josef Christ, Hermann Werner Siemens, Albert Touraine
- ChristensenâÂÂKrabbe disease â Erna Christensen, Knud Krabbe
- Christmas disease â Stephen Christmas
- ChurgâÂÂStrauss syndrome â Jacob Churg, Lotte Strauss
- Claude syndrome â Henri Claude
- Clerambault syndrome â Gaëtan Gatian de Clerambault
- ClerambaultâÂÂKandinsky syndrome â Gaëtan Gatian de Clerambault, Victor Khrisanfovich Kandinsky
- Coats disease â George Coats
- Cock peculiar tumor â Edward Cock
- Cockayne syndrome â Edward Alfred Cockayne
- CoffinâÂÂLowry syndrome â Grange Coffin, Robert Lowry
- CoffinâÂÂSiris syndrome â Grange Coffin, Evelyn Siris
- Cogan syndrome â David Glendenning Cogan
- Cohen syndrome â Michael Cohen
- ColletâÂÂSicard syndrome â Frédéric Justin Collet, Jean-Athanase Sicard
- Concato disease â Luigi Maria Concato
- Conn syndrome â Jerome Conn
- Conradi-Hünermann syndrome - Erich Conradi, Karl Hünermann
- Cooley anemia â Thomas Benton Cooley
- Cori Disease â Carl Ferdinand Cori, Gerty Cori
- Cornelia de Lange syndrome â Cornelia Catharina de Lange
- Costello syndrome â Jack Costello
- Costen syndrome â James Bray Costen
- Cotard delusion (aka Cotard syndrome) â Jules Cotard
- Cowden syndrome (aka Cowden disease) â Rachel Cowden
- CriglerâÂÂNajjar syndrome â John Fielding Crigler, Victor Assad Najjar
- CreutzfeldtâÂÂJakob disease â Hans Gerhard Creutzfeldt, Alfons Maria Jakob
- CrocqâÂÂCassirer syndrome â Jean Crocq, Richard Cassirer
- Crohn disease â Burrill Bernard Crohn
- CronkhiteâÂÂCanada syndrome â L. W. Cronkhite, Wilma Canada
- Crouzon syndrome â Octave Crouzon
- CruveilhierâÂÂBaumgarten disease â Jean Cruveilhier, Paul Clemens von Baumgarten
- Cruz disease â Osvaldo Gonçalves Cruz
- Cryer syndrome â Philip E. Cryer
- Curling ulcer â Thomas Blizard Curling
- CurschmannâÂÂBattenâÂÂSteinert syndrome â Hans Curschmann, Frederick Batten, Hans Gustav Steinert
- Cushing disease â Harvey Cushing
- Cushing ulcer â Harvey Cushing
D
- Da Costa syndrome â Jacob Mendez Da Costa
- Dalrymple disease â John Dalrymple
- DanboltâÂÂCloss syndrome â Niels Christian Gauslaa Danbolt, Karl Philipp Closs
- DandyâÂÂWalker syndrome â Walter Dandy, Arthur Earl Walker
- De Clérambault syndrome â Gaëtan Gatian de Clérambault
- de Quervain disease â Fritz de Quervain
- de Quervain thyroiditis â Fritz de Quervain
- DejerineâÂÂSottas disease â Joseph Jules Dejerine, Jules Sottas
- DennieâÂÂMarfan syndrome â Charles Clayton Dennie, Antoine Marfan
- Dent disease â Charles Enrique Dent
- DenysâÂÂDrash syndrome â Pierre Denys, Allan L. Drash
- Dercum disease â Francis Xavier Dercum
- Devic disease (aka Devic syndrome) â Eugène Devic
- DiamondâÂÂBlackfan anemia â Louis Diamond, Kenneth Blackfan
- DiGeorge syndrome â Angelo DiGeorge
- Di Guglielmo disease â Giovanni di Gugliemo
- Diogenes syndrome (aka Havisham syndrome, Miss Havisham syndrome, Plyushkin syndrome)â the Greek philosopher Diogenes of Sinope (usage is deemed a misnomer, as Diogenes did not exhibit these symptoms)
- DoegeâÂÂPotter syndrome â Karl W. Doege, Roy P. Potter
- DonnaiâÂÂBarrow syndrome â Dian Donnai, Margaret Barrow
- Donovanosis â Charles Donovan
- Down syndrome â John Langdon Down
- Dravet syndrome â Charlotte Dravet
- Dressler syndrome â William Dressler
- Duane syndrome â Alexander Duane
- DubinâÂÂJohnson syndrome â Isadore Dubin, Frank Bacchus Johnson
- DuchenneâÂÂAran disease â Guillaume-Benjamin-Amand Duchenne de Boulogne, François-Amilcar Aran
- Duchenne muscular dystrophy â Guillaume-Benjamin-Amand Duchenne de Boulogne
- Dukes disease â Clement Dukes
- Duncan disease (aka Duncan syndrome, Purtilo syndrome) â Duncan family (6 of 18 males had the condition)
- Dupuytren contracture (aka Dupuytren disease) â Baron Guillaume Dupuytren
- Duroziez disease â Paul Louis Duroziez
E
F
G
- Ganser syndrome â Sigbert Ganser
- Gaucher disease â Philippe Gaucher
- GerbecâÂÂMorgagniâÂÂAdamsâÂÂStokes syndrome (aka AdamsâÂÂStokes syndrome, GerbeziusâÂÂMorgagniâÂÂAdamsâÂÂStokes syndrome, StokesâÂÂAdams syndrome) â Marko Gerbec, Giovanni Battista Morgagni, Robert Adams, William Stokes
- GerbeziusâÂÂMorgagniâÂÂAdamsâÂÂStokes syndrome (aka AdamsâÂÂStokes syndrome, GerbecâÂÂMorgagniâÂÂAdamsâÂÂStokes syndrome, StokesâÂÂAdams syndrome) â Marko Gerbec (latinized as Gerbezius), Giovanni Battista Morgagni, Robert Adams, William Stokes
- Ghon complex â Anton Ghon
- Ghon focus â Anton Ghon
- Gianotti-Crosti syndrome - Ferdinando Gianotti, Agostino Crosti
- Gilbert syndrome â Augustin Nicolas Gilbert
- Gitelman syndrome â Hillel J. Gitelman
- Glanzmann thrombasthenia â Eduard Glanzmann
- Goodpasture syndrome â Ernest Goodpasture
- Goldberg-Shprintzen syndrome - R. B. Goldberg, R. J. Shprintzen
- Goldenhar syndrome â Maurice Goldenhar
- GorlinâÂÂGoltz syndrome â Robert J. Gorlin, Robert W. Goltz
- Gouverneur syndrome â R. Gouverneur
- Graves disease â Robert James Graves
- GravesâÂÂBasedow disease â Robert James Graves, Karl Adolph von Basedow
- Grawitz tumor â Paul Albert Grawitz
- Grinker myelinopathy â Roy R. Grinker, Sr.
- Gruber syndrome â Georg Gruber
- GuillainâÂÂBarré syndrome â Georges Guillain, Jean Alexandre Barré
- GuillainâÂÂBarréâÂÂStrohl syndrome â Georges Guillain, Jean Alexandre Barré, André Strohl
- Gunther disease â Hans Gunther
H
- HaileyâÂÂHailey disease â Hugh Edward Hailey, William Howard Hailey
- HallervordenâÂÂSpatz disease â Julius Hallervorden, Hugo Spatz - in disuse, due to Nazi association
- HandâÂÂSchüllerâÂÂChristian disease â Alfred Hand, Artur Schüller, Henry Asbury Christian
- Hansen disease â Gerhard Armauer Hansen
- Hardikar Syndrome â Winita Hardikar
- Hartnup disease (aka Hartnup disorder) â the Hartnup family, in which causative gene was identified
- Hashimoto thyroiditis â Hakaru Hashimoto
- Havisham syndrome (aka Diogenes syndrome, Miss Havisham syndrome, Plyushkin syndrome) â Miss Havisham, a literary character in Charles Dickens' Great Expectations
- HechtâÂÂScott syndrome â Jacqueline T. Hecht, Charles I. Scott, Jr
- HenochâÂÂSchönlein purpura â Eduard Heinrich Henoch, Johann Lukas Schönlein
- Heyde's syndrome â Edward C. Heyde
- Hirschsprung disease â Harald Hirschsprung
- Hodgkin disease â Thomas Hodgkin
- HoltâÂÂOram syndrome â Mary Clayton Holt, Samuel Oram
- Horner syndrome â Johann Friedrich Horner
- Horton headache â Bayard Taylor Horton
- Huntington disease â George Huntington
- Hurler syndrome â Gertrud Hurler
- HurlerâÂÂScheie syndrome â Gertrud Hurler, Harold Glendon Scheie
- HutchinsonâÂÂGilford progeria syndrome â Jonathan Hutchinson, Hastings Gilford
I
J
K
L
- Lafora disease â Gonzalo Rodriguez Lafora
- Laron syndrome â Zvi Laron
- LaurenceâÂÂMoon syndrome â John Zachariah Laurence, Robert Charles Moon
- LaurenceâÂÂMoonâÂÂBardetâÂÂBiedl syndrome (aka LaurenceâÂÂMoonâÂÂBiedlâÂÂBardet syndrome, aka LaurenceâÂÂMoonâÂÂBiedl syndrome - both now deemed invalid constructs, as patients of Laurence and Moon were found to differ from those of Bardet and Beidl; see instead BardetâÂÂBiedl syndrome and Laurence-Moon syndrome) â John Zachariah Laurence, Robert Charles Moon, Georges Bardet, Arthur Biedl
- Lazarus syndrome â Lazarus of Bethany, an individual in New Testament
- LeggâÂÂCalvéâÂÂPerthes syndrome â Arthur Legg, Jacques Calvé, Georg Perthes
- Leigh disease â Denis Archibald Leigh
- Leiner syndrome â Karl Leiner, André Moussous
- Leishmaniasis â Sir William Boog Leishman
- Lejeune syndrome â Jérôme Lejeune
- Lemierre syndrome â André Lemierre
- Lenègre disease â Jean Lenègre
- LennoxâÂÂGastaut syndrome (aka Lennox syndrome) â William Gordon Lennox, Henri Jean Pascal Gastaut
- LeschâÂÂNyhan syndrome â Michael Lesch, William Leo Nyhan
- LettererâÂÂSiwe disease â Erich Letterer, Sture Siwe
- Lev disease â Maurice Lev
- LewandowskyâÂÂLutz dysplasia â Felix Lewandowsky, Wilhelm Lutz
- LiâÂÂFraumeni syndrome â Frederick Pei Li, Joseph F. Fraumeni, Jr.
- LibmanâÂÂSacks disease â Emanuel Libman, Benjamin Sacks
- Liddle syndrome â Grant Liddle
- Lisfranc injury (aka Lisfranc dislocation, Lisfranc fracture) â Jacques Lisfranc de St. Martin
- Listeriosis â Joseph Lister
- Lobomycosis â Jorge Lobo
- LoeysâÂÂDietz Syndrome â Bart Loeys, Hal Dietz
- Löeffler endocarditis â Wilhelm Löeffler
- Löffler syndromeâ Wilhelm Löeffler
- Löfgren syndrome â Sven Halvar Löfgren
- LownâÂÂGanongâÂÂLevine syndrome - Bernard Lown, William Francis Ganong, Jr., and Samuel A. Levine
- Lou Gehrig's disease â New York Yankee baseball player Lou Gehrig
- Lowe Syndrome â Charles Upton Lowe
- Ludwig angina â Wilhelm Friedrich von Ludwig
- LujanâÂÂFryns syndrome â J. Enrique Lujan, Jean-Pierre Fryns
- Lynch syndrome â Henry T. Lynch
M
NB: To differentiate 2 identically named syndromes, parenthetical clinical descriptors were added:
- MartinâÂÂAlbright syndrome (aka Albright IV syndrome) â August E. Martin, Fuller Albright
- MartinâÂÂBell syndrome â J. Purdon Martin, Julia Bell
- MayâÂÂHegglin anomaly â Richard May, Robert Hegglin
- MayâÂÂThurner syndrome â Richard May, J Thurner
- Maydl herniaâÂÂKarel Maydl
- MayerâÂÂRokitanskyâÂÂKüsterâÂÂHauser syndrome â (aka Müllerian agenesis, Müllerian aplasia) â August Franz Josef Karl Mayer, Carl von Rokitansky, Hermann Küster, Georges Andre Hauser
- Mazzotti reaction â Luigi Mazzotti
- McArdle disease â Brian McArdle
- McCuneâÂÂAlbright syndrome â (aka Albright disease, Albright hereditary osteodystrophy, Albright syndrome) â Donovan James McCune, Fuller Albright
- MeckelâÂÂGruber syndrome (aka Meckel syndrome) â Johann Meckel, Georg Gruber
- Meigs syndrome â Joe Vincent Meigs
- Ménétrier disease â Pierre Eugène Ménétrier
- Ménière disease â Prosper Ménière
- Menkes disease â John Hans Menkes
- Middleton syndrome â Stephen John Middleton
- Mirizzi syndrome â Pablo Luis Mirizzi
- Mikulicz disease â Jan Mikulicz-Radecki
- Miss Havisham syndrome (aka Diogenes syndrome, Havisham syndrome, and Plyushkin syndrome) â Miss Havisham, a literary character in Charles Dickens' Great Expectations
- Mondor disease â Henri Mondor
- Monge disease â Carlos Monge
- Mortimer's disease â Mrs. Mortimer, a patient who experienced it
- Morton neuroma
- Moschcowitz syndrome â Eli Moschcowitz
- MowatâÂÂWilson syndrome â David Mowat, Meredith Wilson
- MuchaâÂÂHabermann disease â Viktor Mucha, Rudolf Habermann
- MulvihillâÂÂSmith syndrome â John J. Mulvihill, David Weyhe Smith
- Munchausen syndrome â Baron Munchausen
- Munchausen syndrome by proxy â Baron Munchausen
- MyhreâÂÂRileyâÂÂSmith syndrome â S. Myhre, Harris D. Riley Jr.
N
O
P
- Paget's disease of bone (a.k.a. Paget's disease) â James Paget
- Paget's disease of the breast (a.k.a. Paget's disease of the nipple) â James Paget
- Paget's disease of the penis â James Paget
- Paget's disease of the vulva â James Paget
- PagetâÂÂSchroetter disease (a.k.a. PagetâÂÂSchroetter syndrome and PagetâÂÂvon Schrötter disease) â James Paget, Leopold von Schrötter
- Parkinson's disease â James Parkinson
- Patau syndrome â Klaus Patau
- Pearson syndrome â Howard Pearson
- PelizaeusâÂÂMerzbacher disease â Friedrich Christoph Pelizaeus, Ludwig Merzbacher
- Pendred syndrome â Vaughan Pendred, a British doctor (1869âÂÂ1946)
- Perlman syndrome â Max Perlman
- Perthes syndrome â Arthur Legg, Jacques Calvé, Georg Perthes
- PeutzâÂÂJeghers syndrome â Jan Peutz, Harold Jeghers
- Peyronie's disease â François Gigot de la Peyronie
- PfaundlerâÂÂHurler syndrome â Meinhard von Pfaundler, Gertrud Hurler
- Pick's disease â Arnold Pick
- Pickardt syndrome â Renate Pickardt
- Plummer's disease â Henry Stanley Plummer
- PlummerâÂÂVinson syndrome (a.k.a. KellyâÂÂPatterson syndrome, PatersonâÂÂBrownâÂÂKelly syndrome, and WaldenstromâÂÂKjellberg syndrome) â Henry Stanley Plummer and Porter Paisley Vinson
- Plyushkin syndrome (a.k.a. Diogenes syndrome, Havisham syndrome, and Miss Havisham syndrome)â Stepan Plyushkin, a fictional character in Nikolai Gogol's Dead Souls
- Poland's syndrome â Alfred Poland
- Pompe's disease â Johann Cassianius Pompe
- Pott's disease â Percivall Pott
- Pott's puffy tumor â Percivall Pott
- PotockiâÂÂLupski syndrome â Lorraine Potocki, James R. Lupski
- PotockiâÂÂShaffer syndrome â Lorraine Potocki, Lisa G. Shaffer
- Potter sequence â Edith Potter
- PraderâÂÂWilli syndrome â Andrea Prader, Heinrich Willi
- Prasad's Syndrome â Ashok Prasad
- Primrose syndrome â D. A. Primrose
- Prinzmetal angina â Myron Prinzmetal
- Purtilo syndrome (aka Duncan disease and Duncan syndrome) â David Theodore Purtilio
Q
R
- Ramsay Hunt syndromes â James Ramsay Hunt
- Ranke complex â Karl Ernst Ranke
- Raymond Céstan syndrome â ÃÂtienne Jacques Marie Raymond Céstan
- Raynaud disease â Maurice Raynaud
- Refsum disease â Sigvald Bernhard Refsum
- Reiter syndrome â Hans Conrad Julius Reiter (This is now a strongly discouraged eponym due to Dr. Reiter's Nazi party ties. The disease is now known as reactive arthritis.)
- Rett syndrome â Andreas Rett
- Reye syndrome â Douglas Reye
- Rickettsiosis â Howard Taylor Ricketts
- Riddoch syndrome â George Riddoch
- Riedel thyroiditis â Bernhard Riedel
- Riggs disease â John M. Riggs (dentist)
- RileyâÂÂDay syndrome â Conrad Milton Riley, Richard Lawrence Day
- RileyâÂÂSmith syndrome â Harris D. Riley Jr., William R. Smith
- Ritter disease â Baron Gottfried Ritter von Rittershain
- Robles disease â Rodolfo Robles
- Roger disease â Henri Louis Roger
- Rolandic epilepsy â Luigi Rolando
- RomanoâÂÂWard syndrome
- RothmundâÂÂThomson syndrome â August von Rothmund, Matthew Sydney Thomson
- Rotor syndrome â Arturo Belleza Rotor
- RubinsteinâÂÂTaybi syndrome â Jack Herbert Rubinstein, Hooshang Taybi
- RussellâÂÂSilver syndrome â Alexander Russell, Henry Silver
- RuvalcabaâÂÂMyhre syndrome â Rogelio H. A. Ruvalcaba, S. Myhre
- RuvalcabaâÂÂMyhreâÂÂSmith syndrome â Rogelio H. A. Ruvalcaba, S. Myhre, David Weyhe Smith
- RuzickaâÂÂGoerzâÂÂAnton syndrome â T. Ruzicka, G. Goerz, I. Anton-Lamprecht
S
- Saint's triad â C. F. M. Saint
- Sandhoff disease â Konrad Sandhoff
- Sandifer syndrome â Paul Sandifer
- Sanjad-Sakati syndrome (a.k.a SanjadâÂÂSakatiâÂÂRichardsonâÂÂKirk syndrome) â Sami A. Sanjad, Nadia Awni Sakati, Ricky J Richardson, Jeremy MW Kirk
- Schamberg disease â Jay Frank Schamberg
- Scheie syndrome â Harold Glendon Scheie
- Scheuermann's disease â Holger Scheuermann
- Schilder's disease â Paul Ferdinand Schilder
- SchinzelâÂÂGiedion syndrome â Albert Schinzel, Andreas Giedion
- Schnitzler syndrome â Liliane Schnitzler
- Seaver Cassidy syndrome â Laurie Seaver, Suzanne Cassidy
- Seligmann's disease â Maxime Seligmann
- SertoliâÂÂLeydig cell tumour - Enrico Sertoli, Franz Leydig a sex-cord stromal tumor, (aka arrhenoblastoma)
- Sever's disease â J. W. Sever
- Shabbir syndrome â G. Shabbir
- Sheehan's syndrome â Harold Leeming Sheehan
- Shprintzen's syndrome â Robert Shprintzen
- ShwachmanâÂÂBodianâÂÂDiamond syndrome â Harry Shwachman, Martin Bodian, Louis Klein Diamond
- SilverâÂÂRussell syndrome (a.k.a. SilverâÂÂRussell dwarfism) â Henry Silver, Alexander Russell
- Simmonds' syndrome â Moritz Simmonds
- Sipple's syndrome â John H. Sipple
- Sjögren syndrome â Henrik Sjögren
- SjögrenâÂÂLarsson syndrome â Torsten Sjögren, Tage Konrad Leopold Larsson
- Skumin syndrome â Victor Skumin
- SmithâÂÂLemliâÂÂOpitz syndrome â David Weyhe Smith
- Stargardt disease â Karl Stargardt
- SteeleâÂÂRichardsonâÂÂOlszewski syndrome âÂÂ
- Stein-Leventhal Syndrome - Irving F. Stein, Sr. and Michael L. Leventhal (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, PCOS)
- StevensâÂÂJohnson syndrome â Albert Mason Stevens, Frank Chambliss Johnson
- SturgeâÂÂWeber syndrome â William Allen Sturge, Frederick Parkes Weber
- Still's disease â Sir George Frederic Still
- Susac's syndrome â John Susac
- Sutton's disease â Richard Lightburn Sutton
T
U
V
W
- Waardenburg syndrome â Petrus Johannes Waardenburg
- WaldenstromâÂÂKjellberg syndrome â Jan G. Waldenström, S. R. Kjellberg
- Waldenstrom macroglobulinaemia â Jan G. Waldenström
- Warkany syndrome 1 â Joseph Warkany
- Warkany syndrome 2 â Joseph Warkany
- Warthin's tumor â Aldred Scott Warthin
- WaterhouseâÂÂFriderichsen syndrome â Rupert Waterhouse, Carl Friderichsen
- Watson syndrome â G.H.Watson
- WeberâÂÂChristian disease â Frederick Parkes Weber, Henry Asbury Christian
- Wegener's granulomatosis â Friedrich Wegener (This usage is now formally discouraged by professional medical societies due to the Nazi associations of the eponymous physician. The disease is now known as granulomatosis with polyangiitis.)
- Weil's disease â Adolf Weil
- Welander distal myopathy â Lisa Welander
- Wells syndrome â George Crichton Wells
- Wellens' syndrome â Hein Wellens
- WerdnigâÂÂHoffmann disease â Guido Werdnig, Johann Hoffmann
- Wermer's syndrome â Paul Wermer
- Werner's syndrome â Otto Werner
- Wernicke's Aphasia â Carl Wernicke
- Wernicke's encephalopathy â Carl Wernicke
- WernickeâÂÂKorsakoff syndrome â Carl Wernicke, Sergei Korsakoff
- Westerhof syndrome â Wiete Westerhof
- WesterhofâÂÂBeemerâÂÂCormane syndrome â Wiete Westerhof, Frederikus Antonius Beemer, R. H.Cormane
- Whipple's disease â George Hoyt Whipple
- Williams syndrome â J. C. P. Williams
- Wilms tumor â Max Wilms
- Wilson's disease â Samuel Alexander Kinnier Wilson
- WillisâÂÂEkbom syndrome â Thomas Willis, Karl-Axel Ekbom
- WiskottâÂÂAldrich syndrome â Alfred Wiskott, Robert Aldrich
- WittmaackâÂÂEkbom syndrome â Theodur Wittmaack, Karl-Axel Ekbom
- WohlfartâÂÂKugelbergâÂÂWelander disease â Karl Gunnar Vilhelm Wohlfart, Erik Klas Henrik Kugelberg, Lisa Welander
- WolffâÂÂParkinsonâÂÂWhite syndrome â Louis Wolff, John Parkinson, Paul Dudley White
X
Y
Z
- Zahorsky syndrome I â John Zahorsky
- Zahorsky syndrome II (a.k.a. Mikulicz' Aphthae, Mikulicz' Disease, Sutton disease 2, Mikulicz' Aphthae, Zahorsky disease) â John Zahorsky
- Zellweger syndrome â Hans Ulrich Zellweger
- Zenker diverticulum â Friedrich Albert von Zenker
- Zenker paralysis â Friedrich Albert von Zenker
- Zieve syndrome â Leslie Zieve
- ZimmermannâÂÂLaband syndrome (a.k.a. Laband syndrome, LabandâÂÂZimmermann syndrome) â Karl Wilhelm Zimmermann
- ZollingerâÂÂEllison syndrome â Robert Zollinger, Edwin Ellison
- ZondekâÂÂBrombergâÂÂRozin syndrome (a.k.a. Zondek syndrome) â Bernhard Zondek, Yehuda M. Bromberg, R.Rozin
- Zuelzer syndrome â Wolf William Zuelzer
- ZuelzerâÂÂKaplan syndrome II (a.k.a. Crosby syndrome) â Wolf William Zuelzer, E. Kaplan
- ZuelzerâÂÂOgden syndrome â Wolf William Zuelzer, Frank Nevin Ogden
- Zumbusch psoriasis (a.k.a. von Zumbusch (acute) generalized pustular psoriasis) â Leo Ritter von Zumbusch
- Zumbusch syndrome (a.k.a. Csillag disease, Hallopeau disease, von Zumbusch syndrome) â Leo Ritter von Zumbusch
See also
References
External links
- Whonamedit?, a site dedicated to medical eponyms and their namesakes.