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Background Information on Eponymous Diseases
Below are some suggested background information articles on eponymous diseases. You can also search in the reference and encyclopedia databases listed.
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Brief Historical Perspective: Medical EponymsJournal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives (2014).
Eponyms are a long-standing tradition in medicine. Eponyms usually involve honoring a prominent physician scientist who played a major role in the identification of the disease. Under the right circumstances, a disease becomes well known through the name of this individual. There are no rules on eponym development. It may take an extraordinary period of time, be different in different languages and cultures, and evolve as more is known about the physician or the disease.
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Eponym Debate: The Case for Naming Diseases After PeopleStanford Medicine (2020).
Should diseases be named after people? This first of a two-part series includes arguments to continue using medical eponyms. -
Eponym Debate: The Case for Biologically-Descriptive NamesStanford Medicine (2020).
Should diseases be named after people? This conclusion of a two-part series looks at the arguments for using biologically-descriptive names, not eponyms.
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The Amazing Language of Medicine
by
Chapter 7: Eponymous and Honorary Medical Terms
This book tells the intriguing and often colorful stories of the medical words we use. The origins of clinical and scientific terms can be found in Greek and Latin myths, in places such as jungles of Uganda and the islands of the Aegean Sea, in the names of medicine's giants such as Hippocrates and Osler, and in some truly unlikely sources. Knowing a word's history assists in understanding not only what it means, but also some of the connotative subtleties of terms used in diagnosis and treatment.
How to Use Reference Books
Encyclopedias, dictionaries, and reference books are great resources for gathering background information on your topic, as well as for:
- Defining important vocabulary words related to your topic.
- Finding a basic overview and main issues related to your topic.
- Finding references to additional resources.
These sources are useful for initial research and gaining a broader understanding of your topic; however, they should not be included in your works cited or reference list.
Reference Databases
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Credo Reference This link opens in a new windowA collection of over 500 reference books on a variety of topics. (NVCC)
Credo Reference also includes Mind Map, a visual tool can help you discover connections between key terms by mapping close relationships. -
Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new windowMore than 100 Oxford University Press dictionaries and reference books. (VIVA)
Online Encyclopedias
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Biography (Gale In Context) This link opens in a new windowBiographical information on over 380,000 people from throughout world history; from encyclopedias and news articles. (NVCC)
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Britannica Academic This link opens in a new windowFully-searchable collection of authoritative encyclopedia articles. (NVCC)
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Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window(Formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library) includes full-text encyclopedias, handbooks, and other sources for multidisciplinary research. (VIVA, NVCC)
