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Medical eponyms are terms used to describe anything from diseases and conditions to procedures, tests, and medical devices. They are a crucial part of medical terminology and can regularly be found in textbooks, scientific papers, medical conversations, and medical documentation.

Knowing how to write medical eponyms can be challenging, as the names can differ from what the author is used to, sound foreign, and simply look strange in the text. In this blog post, we will cover some of the most common medical eponyms, and provide some guidelines for writing them correctly in English, Spanish, French, German and Slovenian.

What are medical eponyms?

Medical eponyms are usually named after the person who discovered or described a particular medical novelty.

For example, Parkinson’s disease is named after James Parkinson, who first described the symptoms of the disease in 1817. Similarly, the Heimlich manoeuvre is named after Henry Heimlich, who developed the technique for helping a choking person.

The list of medical eponyms is extensive, so here are just a few well-known examples:

  • Lou Gehrig’s disease (better known today as ALS or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), named after a famous baseball player who was diagnosed with the disease in 1938.
  • Munchausen syndrome, alluding to the fictional character of Baron von Munchausen, whose personal habits were reminiscent of the symptoms of the syndrome.
  • Lyme disease, named after two towns (Old Lyme and Lyme) in Connecticut, USA, in which the symptoms of the disease were identified in 1975.
  • Ebola virus disease, named after a river near which an outbreak of the disease was first identified.
  • Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, named after two German neurologists who first described this neurological disease.

Guidelines for writing medical eponyms

When writing medical eponyms, it is essential to ensure that they are used correctly and in line with the established use. Below are some guidelines for writing medical eponyms in five different languages – English, Spanish, French, German and Slovenian. The guidelines cover aspects such as word order, capitalisation, and hyphenation.

English:

  • Always capitalise the eponym.
  • Use the full (last) name of the person as the eponym. For example, Guillain-Barré syndrome, not Barré syndrome.
  • If required by the eponym*, use an apostrophe to correctly indicate possession. For example, Parkinson’s disease, not Parkinsons disease.
  • Do not use the eponym as a noun or verb. For example, it is correct to say Parkinson’s disease, but it is incorrect to say “he/she was Parkinsoned”.
  • If the eponym is hyphenated*, capitalise the first letter of each word. For example, Guillain-Barré syndrome.

*Keep in mind that English loves exceptions to the rule, so it is always wise to check how a specific medical eponym is written. Most should conform to the guidelines above, but some will not. Also keep in mind that the growing consensus is not to use an apostrophe.

Spanish:

  • Always capitalise the eponym.
  • In Spanish, the eponym is often written after the medical term, for example, la enfermedad de Alzheimer, not la Alzheimer enfermedad.
  • The eponym should be capitalised, but the medical term (for example the word enfermedad) should not, unless it begins a sentence or is a proper noun.
  • A definite article “la/el” (depending on the grammatical gender of the noun) should be used before the eponym to indicate the possessive grammatical form. For example, la enfermedad de Parkinson or el síndrome de Guillain-Barré.
  • If the eponym is hyphenated in English, it should also be hyphenated in Spanish. For example, el síndrome de Guillain-Barré.

French:

  • Always capitalise the eponym.
  • Use the name of the person (eponym) after the medical term. For example, la maladie de Parkinson, not Parkinson maladie.
  • Use the preposition “de” to indicate the possessive grammatical form. For example, la maladie de Parkinson, not la maladie Parkinson.
  • Do not use the eponym as a noun or verb. For example, it is correct to say la maladie de Parkinson, but it is incorrect to say “il a été parkinsoné”.
  • If the eponym is hyphenated in English, there are several options in French. The best course of action is to check every one in a reliable source.

German:

  • Always capitalise the eponym.
  • Use the name of the person (eponym) hyphenated before the medical term. For example, die Parkinson-Krankheit, not die Krankheit Parkinson.
  • The possessive grammatical form is usually not expressly indicated by using the preposition “von”, but is clear from the hyphenated phrase structure itself.
  • Do not use the eponym as a noun or verb. For example, it is correct to say die Parkinson-Krankheit, but it is incorrect to say “er wurde geparkinsonisiert”.
  • If the eponym is hyphenated, capitalise the first letter of each word and separate them with hyphens. For example, das Guillain-Barré-Syndrom.

Slovenian:

  • The medical term can be written in lowercase or uppercase (e.g. parkinsonova/Parkinsonova bolezen), with the uppercase spelling being recommended by the Slovenian medical dictionary and thus more prevalent in the medical literature. Regardless of the author’s capitalisation choice, the spelling must be unified across the entire text to only one of the variants.
  • In Slovenian, medical eponyms are usually written with the person’s name (eponym) first, followed by the medical term. In short, use the possessive grammatical form of the eponym before the medical term, for example, Alzheimerjeva bolezen, not bolezen Alzheimerja.
  • Since the eponym is usually used as an adjective, it should agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies. For example, the Slovenian term for disease is bolezen, and it is grammatically a feminine word. Any adjective must agree in gender and number with the noun bolezen, and this goes for eponyms as well. Parkinson’s disease would thus be written in Slovenian as Parkinsonova bolezen.
  • If the eponym contains a hyphen, the hyphen should be retained in Slovenian, for example, Guillain-Barréjev sindrom (Eng. Guillain-Barré syndrome).

The correct use of medical eponyms is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, it ensures accurate communication between healthcare professionals. Secondly, it shows respect for the person or place after whom the eponym is named. Finally, it helps to maintain consistency in medical terminology, making it easier for medical professionals to communicate and search the relevant medical literature.

How a medical eponym is spelt in different languages depends on the grammatical rules of the language. Though most of the phrases are first coined in English as the primary language of the medical community, knowing how to correctly translate them into the target language of choice can be tricky. Alamma is here to help you as a language service provider specialising in medicine and pharmaceuticals. Do you have a challenging term that needs translation? Contact us!