Anat Cell Biol.  2020 Mar;53(1):44-47. 10.5115/acb.19.132.

Quantification of the use of eponyms in two Latin American congresses of anatomy

• Parra JED
• Ríos JB
• García JFV

• KMID: 2500437
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5115/acb.19.132

Abstract

Eponyms have been part of medical language for many centuries, have put down powerful cultural roots, and continue to be used mainly in the language of medical specialties. The problem with eponymy is that it does not provide any relevant information about what is being studied, which hinders learning and generates communication problems. Ten oral presentations were randomly evaluated, as were all poster presentations made at the II Peruvian Congress on Morphological Sciences and the XV Ibero-Latin American Symposium on Anatomical, Histological, and Embryological Terminology, held in March of 2018 in Lima, Peru. This was done in order to quantify eponym use. Of the 10 oral presentations randomly selected, the eponym use was identified in six (60%). Of the 33 poster presentations made, six (18.18%) used eponyms. In conclusion, eponyms continue to be used indiscriminately in the language of the morphological sciences.

Keyword

Eponymy; Anatomical terminology; Medical sciences