Oral and Dental Diseases

Edinburgh and London: E. & S. Livingstone, 1962. A FASCINAlINOi 1)ook to read, dip inito, or consult, and an essential one to use if eponymous anatomical terms are to be attributed correctly. A total of 728 names are recorded, with, where possible, a short biographical sketch and dates of birth and death of the individual, together with associated anatomical structures. It is interesting to note that each letter of the alphabet, with the excepion of "X," is represeilted starting with "Abernethy" and ending with "Zuckerkandll." The names are of European origin (including Russia and Great Britain aind Ireland within that term), with the one exception of "Tawara" from Japan. Historically the period covered ranges from antiquity to modern times. Few doctors will associate the tendo Achillis-tendo calcaneus, wvith the name of Hippocrates (460-367 B.C.). Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), the great comparative anatomist and embryologist, has not a single anatomical structure named after him, and so is not included in the book. The wine press of Herophilus (335-280 B.C.) will no doubt be familiar to most medical men. It is a matter perhaps for local pride that Symington (A. D. 1851-1924) is commemorated by association with the ano-coccygeal body. The most recent writers whose names are noted are Keith (A.D. 1866-1955), who shares with Flack (A.D. 1882-1931) in English anatomical literature, and Walter Koch (b. A.D. 1880) in the German literature the attribution of the sino-atrial node. -This is not the only instance of a single structure having more than one attribution. Another source of confusion is that occasionally several structures are named after a single individual, and again different individuals of the same name have been confused by other writers. Incorrect attributions by previous authors are here corrected, and a very high level of accuracy has been aimed at and attained throughout the book. Two minor misprints seem to be the only flaws of this nature; on page seventeen, under the name "Balbiani," nucleus is spelt nucleutr, and on page one hundred and fifty-one, under the name of 'Nansen," the famous explorer, neurornes are spelt meurones. A good case can be made out for the ietention of some eponymous anatomical terms, as for example, the Eustachian tube, the Wolffian and Mtillerian ducts, where there is a long standing and world-wide use of such terms. Perhaps the names of physicians like Thomas Wharton and Francis Glisson, who remained on duty in London during the Great Plague, deserve to be retained in everyday use. It is however quite unrealistic to expect that each and every structure which at one time or another has been named after one individual or another, can be used in anatomical terminology which aims to be understood throughout the world. Nor could medical students be expected to remember such names if they were recorded. The comparison of anatomical usage with botanical and zoological usage, where personal names are often incorporated into the designation of a species, as for example "Burchell's zebra," is a false one. Individual body structures cannot be equated with whole species of plants or animals. No matter what is said against the use of eponymous terms they continue to be used, especially by clinical teachers. This book will help all who have an interest in the historical side of medicine to add to their store of knowledge, and in the wider field should be of interest to most graduate and undergraduate students who are intrigued by the uncommon eponym. It can be strongly recommended for its intrinsic interest alone. w. R. M. M.