Considerations about the use of eponyms in Ophthalmology

González-Martín-Moro, J.

doi:10.1016/j.oftale.2020.03.013

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González-Martín-Moro" "autores" => array:1 [ 0 => array:4 [ "nombre" => "J." "apellidos" => "González-Martín-Moro" "email" => array:2 [ 0 => "juliogmm@yahoo.es" 1 => "juliogazpeitia@gmail.com" ] "referencia" => array:3 [ 0 => array:2 [ "etiqueta" => "a" "identificador" => "aff0005" ] 1 => array:2 [ "etiqueta" => "b" "identificador" => "aff0010" ] 2 => array:2 [ "etiqueta" => "*" "identificador" => "cor0005" ] ] ] ] "afiliaciones" => array:2 [ 0 => array:3 [ "entidad" => "Departamento de Oftalmología, Hospital Universitario del Henares, Madrid, Spain" "etiqueta" => "a" "identificador" => "aff0005" ] 1 => array:3 [ "entidad" => "Departamento de Medicina, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Madrid, Spain" "etiqueta" => "b" "identificador" => "aff0010" ] ] "correspondencia" => array:1 [ 0 => array:3 [ "identificador" => "cor0005" "etiqueta" => "⁎" "correspondencia" => "Corresponding author." ] ] ] ] "titulosAlternativos" => array:1 [ "es" => array:1 [ "titulo" => "Consideraciones acerca del uso de epónimos en Oftalmología" ] ] "textoCompleto" => "For a long time it has been said that the use of eponyms goes against precision of scientific language. In many cases, eponyms produce confusion because the relationship between the term and the idea behind it could be equivocal. Sometimes, the same clinic idea is designated with 2 different names (oculosympathetic paresis is known as Horner’s or Claude-Bernard syndrome). The opposite is also true, when a single name is utilized to refer to 2 completely different things. Amsler’s sign has no relationship whatsoever with metamorphopsia; instead, it designates anterior chamber bleeding. In some diseases, the use of eponyms is even surreal. A clear example is dysthyroid ophthalmopathy which carries close to 30 eponyms.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0005">1</a>There are some at least implicit norms about how an eponyms should be developed. The first says that crowning oneself with an eponym is not right. Recently, Dua described a new corneal layer which he baptized with his own name.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0010">2</a> Shortly after that, a letter to the editor doubted that said structure had sufficient entity to be recognized as such and besides the authors claimed that the procedure was incorrect, and reminded Dua that an eponym is given by colleagues or disciples but never by oneself.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0015">3</a>A second recently disseminated norm is that the scientist that is granted title to an eponym must have maintained perfect ethical conduct. This is more difficult to assess because human ethics are subject to historical developments. The use of eponyms is a very current issue because some propose modifying the name of syndromes or signs whose discoverers were Nazi sympathizers.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0020">4</a> Such is the case of Wegener, Asperger, Kyrieleis or Reiter.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0020">4</a> This process opens up a debate about where we draw the line between professional skill and personal preferences. It may seem clear that Nazi scientists should be stripped of their eponyms, but what should we do with scientists of other nationalities who expressed their sympathy with eugenic theories, which were very common in the early 20th century. This is a case of Foster Kennedy.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0020">4</a> If we were able to delve deep in the personal preferences of Hyppocrates we would most likely find something that, 2000 years later, would call for changing the name of the Hippocratic oath.This current of thought is somewhat hypocritical if we take into account that the North American scientific and technological development that took place in the second half of the 20th century is largely based on about 1600 Nazi scientists that were recruited at the end of World War II and integrated in American society. They worked in prestigious academic and military institutions supported by a large scale whitewashing campaign that was given the name of “Operation Paperclip”.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0025">5</a>An equally respectable current of thought considers that eponyms are a part of our culture. They add color to medicine and their beauty lies precisely on their arbitrary nature. In fact, a survey among professionals revealed that they would like to keep eponyms.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0030">6</a> History is about the things that happened and not what we would like to have happened, and censoring eponyms is a futile waste of energy, like fighting against windmills.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0035">7</a>In any case, even setting aside ethical aspects, the use of eponyms gives rise to important problems and nowadays the tendency is to utilize descriptive terms. The process of researching a disease is complex and generally involves many people. However, when the time comes to assign a name to a disease, there is only room for one name (or at the most 2) and it is difficult to determine whether the disease must be given the name of the author that reported the first patient, or the first series, or the first full description thereof.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0040">8</a> In this regard, there is a debate about whether Behçet’s disease should be known as Adamantiades disease because he was the first to describe it.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0040">8</a> Strictly speaking, if we had to acknowledge all those who participated in the description thereof, Behçet’s disease should be known as the Hippocrates-Janin-Neumann-Reis-Bluthe-Gilbert-Planner-Remenovsky-Weve-Shigeta-Pils-Grütz-Carol-Ruys-Samek-Fischer-Walter-Roman-Kumer-Adamantiades-Dascalopoulos-Matras-Whitwell-Nishimura-Blobner-Weekers-Reginster-Knapp-Behçet disease.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0040">8</a>Wikipedia includes a page summarizing the most important eponyms. However, the Whonamedit website, created and maintained by the Norwegian medical historian Ole Daniel Enersen, comprises a highly detailed list of several thousand eponyms. It classifies eponyms in different ways, of which (by the way) only 16 are related to Spanish researchers.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0045">9</a> This number is very low and far behind other countries like the United States (895), Germany (677), France (469), or the United Kingdom (375), or even below smaller countries like Switzerland (107), Sweden (56) or Holland (49). Despite the poor contribution of Spaniards to eponyms, 4 out of 16 are named after ophthalmologists: Marín Amat (1879–1972), Hermenegildo Arruga (1886–1972), Ignacio Barraquer (1884–1965) and Ramón Castroviejo Briones (1904–1987). It is worth pointing out that these belong to the same generation and carried out most of their professional activity in the first half of the 20th century. After that, Spanish scientific contributions came marginal, probably largely to the monopolization of science by the United States and the imposition of English as the international language for science. Only one Spanish eponym is utilized to designate the closure of an eye when opening the mouth due to an aberrant regeneration of the facial nerve, i.e. the Marín Amat syndrome. The 3 remaining Spanish eponyms deserve a place in the history of medicine due to highly significant innovations in surgery. These 3 surgeons are related to the development of new procedures, 2 of which have an empty biography in Whonamedit. The first is of course Dr. Barraquer for perfecting intracapsular extraction in cataracts, but we also have Arruga who developed the Arruga suture or string (a procedure utilized for treating regmatogenous retina detachment) or Castroviejo, who invented numerous surgical instruments such as the Castroviejo scissors or Castroviejo needle case).<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0050">10</a> A fifth is Eduardo Tolosa, a Spanish neurosurgeon who described a syndrome in neuroophthalmology(idiopathic painful ophthalmoplegia).<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0045">9</a>Eponyms are indeed a part of history just like history is part of ourselves, and even going forward the development of eponyms may diminish, it remains clear that eponyms from the past are here to stay. Eponyms granted to Spanish authors are few, although a majority are related ophthalmology. The best available tool to find out the origin of eponyms (Whonamedit) hardly has any information about these exceptional Spanish ophthalmologist." "pdfFichero" => "main.pdf" "tienePdf" => true "NotaPie" => array:1 [ 0 => array:2 [ "etiqueta" => "☆" "nota" => "Please cite this article as: González-Martín-Moro J. Consideraciones acerca del uso de epónimos en Oftalmología. Arch Soc Esp Oftalmol. 2020;95:573–574." ] ] "bibliografia" => array:2 [ "titulo" => "References" "seccion" => array:1 [ 0 => array:2 [ "identificador" => "bibs0005" "bibliografiaReferencia" => array:10 [ 0 => array:3 [ "identificador" => "bib0005" "etiqueta" => "1" "referencia" => array:1 [ 0 => array:1 [ "referenciaCompleta" => "P S. Eponymous Signs of Thyroid Ophthalmopathy. 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Archivos de la Sociedad Española de Oftalmología is the official journal of the Ophthalmology Society of Spain, that has over 4,000 members. It gives priority to the publication of basic, translational and clinic research including reviews, original articles, short communications, editorials, letters to the editor and clinic practice guides related to Ophthalmology and its subspecialties. A small section of the journal is reserved for the most relevant papers presented at the annual Congress of the Society. All manuscripts considered for publication are reviewed by expert examiner peers (double blind). The journal is published monthly and even though its official language is Spanish all articles are translated into English to increase the dissemination of scientific information. At present, Archivos is the only Spanish language Ophthalmology journal indexed in PubMed/MEDLINE in addition to other prestigious international databases such as Scopus.

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