Legends Of Surgeryさんのイラストまとめ

On June 7, 1912, German surgeon Alwin von Ach (1875-1924) performed the first esophagectomy w/o thoracotomy, on a 55 y.o. woman. He made a subcostal incision, went across the GE junction, and removed the esophagus through the neck, starting the transhiatal esophagectomy era.

TIL: Inflammation of the glans penis is called balanitis. Why? It comes from the Greek word ‘balanos’ which means acorn, do to the similarity in shape. Now you know!

TIL: the great cerebral vein is also called the vein of Galen, after the Greek born Roman physician (129-200 CE). A rare congenital disorder can occur, known as a vein of Galen malformation (VOGM), an arteriovenous malformation. This can be treated by endovascular embolization.

Bald’s Leechbook is an Old English medical text, likely written in the 9th century. It is mainly an Anglo-Saxon herbarium, but has a chapter on cleft lip surgery. Only one manuscript survives (in the British Library), but is available on line!

Danish born anatomist Jacob Winslow (1669-1760) described the connection between the greater peritoneal cavity and lesser sac (foramen of Winslow). This allows surgeons rapid access to the liver’s blood supply to minimize blood loss in hepatic surgery (the Pringle manoeuvre).

Austrian physiologist Eugen Steinach (1861-1944), in an effort to “rejuvenate” men, developed the Steinach operation, which was just a unilateral vasectomy. He claimed this would increase testosterone production. Famous patients included poet Sigmund Freud and poet W.B. Yeats!

Dupuytren’s disease has been called ‘the curse of the MacCrimmons’ because of a high incidence among this clan from the Isle of Skye. Known for their talents as bagpipers, the bent pinkie in Dupuytren’s made playing difficult, hence the curse!

One of my favourite anatomical terms is for the connection between the 3rd and 4th ventricles of the brain: the aqueduct of Sylvius. Named for the ancient way of moving water made famous by the Romans, and the 17th century Dutch physician Franciscus Sylvius.

TIL: Plantar fibromatosis (thickening of connective tissue of the feet) is also called Ledderhose disease. Not because of the traditional dress of Oktoberfest (that’s lederhosen) but rather after the German surgeon Georg Ledderhose, who described the condition in 1894.

TIL: the name duodenum comes from the Medieval Latin ‘duodenum digitorium’ meaning ‘space of 12 digits’. This originated from the Greek physician Herophilus (353-280 BCE) who described its length as about the breadth of twelve fingers!