By Alexander S. Zolotov, MD, PhD

I like the Beatles. One of the funniest and most ironic Beatles’ songs is “When I’m Sixty-Four.” Today this song is especially relevant to me, because I am the same age as the hero of this song. It is not surprising that with age, interest in the history of medicine in general and the history of surgery in particular increases.

The life of a modern person is impossible to imagine without eponyms. The term “eponym” in translation from ancient Greek means, “who gives a name.” In fact, eponymous names are our history and recognition of the merits of outstanding scientists, researchers, travelers, heroes, imperators, and extraordinary people. Eponyms are widely represented in almost all areas of human life. A large number of eponyms are in engineering, mathematics, chemistry, astronomy and geography. There are many eponyms in medicine. Medical doctors understand each other clearly when they use eponymous terms, for example Lister’s tubercle, Kernig’s symptom, Reiter’s syndrome, Parkinson’s disease.

In the Orthopedic surgery section of clinical medicine there is also a large number of eponyms, including in the description of bone fractures. For several centuries, eponyms were a convenient basis for communication between medical doctors with different specialties. Information about eponyms of bone fractures, presented in various textbooks, manuals and periodical editions, were often incomplete, inaccurate, and sometimes controversial. Introduced in one of the publications, the error may be replicated in the next publications. It confuses and hinders analysis, comparison and discussion of the results of treatment of a number of “eponymous” fractures.

In the available literature and Internet resources I have encountered a description of 60 of the most established eponyms of human bone fractures and published a short tutorial guide with pictures of each fracture for students and young surgeons (In Russian) (Fig. 1).

The most of eponymous fractures (26) occur in the hand and upper extremity: 

Hill-Sachs
Bankart
Holstein-Lewis
Malgaigne
Posada
Laugier
Kocher
Mouchet
Malgaigne
Monteggia
Brecht
Essex-Lopresti
Galeazzi
Skillern
Colles
Smith
Barton
Hutchinson
Moore
De Quervain
Bennett
Rolando
Winterstein
Seymour
Wilson
Busch

Eponyms of bone fractures had been described by surgeons and radiologists who lived and worked in the 18th-20th centuries. They were mainly experienced, mature, outstanding specialists from countries with a high level of development of traditional medicine and often representatives of reputable surgical schools. Information about eponyms is very useful for students and young doctors of different specialties, including hand surgeons, in the study, diagnosis and treatment of bone fractures. Furthermore, this knowledge is necessary to understand the history of our specialty. Knowledge of eponyms helps in communication.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to find detailed complete information about the life and achievements of many authors of the eponyms. I would like to continue this work, collect additional information about the above-mentioned famous doctors, revise and re-publish a tutorial guide in English (free on-line edition). This is my modest answer on the question: “What is something you haven’t yet accomplished in your career that you’d like to?”

I would be grateful for links to any biographical sources, texts, photographs or portraits of the authors of the eponyms of fractures of the bones of the hand and upper extremity.

Alexander S. Zolotov, MD, PhD
Head of Orthopedic Surgery Department, Medical Center, Far Eastern Federal University, Professor at School of Biomedicine Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia.
E-mail: **Contact ksteinle@assh.org**
www.drzolotov.com