Eponímia mèdica catalana II

An eponym (from the Greek, eponymos, meaning “appointed by” or “a because of”), according to Diccionario Enciclopédico de Medicina, is the name given to a disease, symptom, anatomical accident, intervention, etc., derived from the person who is credited with the discovery or description first.

Following the publication of the first volume in 2004, Josep-Eladi Bañosand Elena Guardiola, from the Department of Health and Experimental Sciences at Pompeu Fabra University, have returned to investigate some of the most important eponyms that have arisen in medicine in Catalonia and which the Annals of Medicine has published in the section Sense amnesia(No Amnesia).

The authors presented the book on May 24th 2011 during the awards of Academy of Health and Medical Sciences of Catalonia and Baleares, among whom was present the Minister of Health of the Catalan Government, Boi Ruiz, and the president of the Academy, Àlvar Net.

At the presentation Baños and Guardiola stressed the importance this Notebook on Catalan eponyms, which can be found in nearly all medical disciplines. Thus, for example, the Gimbernat ligament can still be found in books on anatomy, the Trueta method has helped save many lives and Barraquer techniques have helped millions of people. The last major example of a Catalan eponym is the Brugada syndrome.

This work is not only a collection of 29 medical eponyms of Catalan origin. It also further provides comprehensive information on what is described by each eponym (a surgical or anatomical structure, etc.) accompanied by biographical details of the person concerned. Finally, the authors note the publication that first contained a reference to the eponym.