🚫🧪💉 Da Hunt fo’ Eponyms: Should Medicine Still Be Boddah?
Discovered! Nazi-era doctors’ names linger on diseases and body parts. But if we scrap ’em, will doctors forget da lessons of da past? 🕵️♂️💭💊
Edith Sheffer, one smart mama, her keiki no like be labeled wit’ Asperger’s syndrome. But in 2016, one psychiatrist tell him he should be proud. He say da condition get named aftah Dr. Hans Asperger, one Austrian scientist from da 1930s who used his smarts fo’ help save kids like him. Dr. Asperger, he make one diagnosis dat focus on da kids’ brains, tryin’ fo’ save ’em from da Nazi kine campaign fo’ “euthanize” da kids wit’ learning problems. 🧑⚕️🔬👨🎓✨
Dr. Sheffer, she sit next to her 12-year-old boy, she know dis no more all da way true. Now she one historian from da University of California, Berkeley, she wen spend years doin’ research on Dr. Asperger fo’ her book, “Asperger’s Children,” published in 2018. She wen find out dat Dr. Asperger, he wen walk in lockstep wit’ da Nazis’ medical plan. 😮📚📖
Da diagnosis he come up wit’, he wen call ’em “autistic psychopathy.” But dat was just part of da bigger Nazi medical scheme fo’ divide people into two categories: ones dey tink worth livin’, and da oddahs dey tink no worth it. And Dr. Sheffer, she wen find out, Dr. Asperger himself wen sentence plenny kids to die. “I no like my boy get named aftah somebody who send kids like him fo’ dead,” she tell Vox in 2018. 😔💔📢
By da time her book come out, Asperger’s syndrome, no mo’ list in da Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. In 2013, dey wen put ’em undah da autism spectrum disorder, ’cause dey no mo’ solid evidence fo’ give ’em deir own diagnosis. But people still use da short version of da name, especially da autism community, some even call demselves “Aspies,” from Asperger’s name. 📚🚫📝🔍
Dr. Sheffer, she so happy fo’ see dat oddah medical groups, like da American Psychiatry Association and da World Health Organization, wen mostly stop using da name. “I tink da message stay get to da medical community,” she say. 😃🌎🩺🤝
Asperger’s syndrome, was one eponym, part of da tradition fo’ name body parts, diseases, disorders, an’ tools aftah great medical peopo. Da end of Asperger’s name show how we gotta watch out fo’ worshipping people from da past, an’ help da movement dat stay growin’ fo’ stop usin’ eponyms altogether. But some experts, dey say even if we “cancel” da eponyms, still gotta keep ’em ’round as reminders fo’ medicine fo’ nevah repeat da bad kine tings from da past. 📜👥🚫🦠
Eponyms, one time, dey wen be like da highest honor fo’ medicine. Like monuments fo’ big-time generals, eponyms show respect fo’ da best brains in medicine, make sure dey names stay live on forevah. One example everyone know is da fallopian tubes, named aftah Gabriele Falloppio, one Italian priest an’ anatomist who wen describe ’em first. Den get oddah ones like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, an’ Hodgkin’s diseases, all named aftah European medical people. 👨⚕️🔬💡🌍
Den, outta nowhere, come da shockah! Early 2000s, dey wen find out dat plenny eponyms connected to National Socialist doctors, da ones who wen break all da rules of medical consent an’ human dignity. These guys was tied to diseases an’ body parts, even show up on da moon craters. No can! Da only choice was fo’ get rid of da Nazi names. Dey was not jus’ wrong, dey was one insult to da whole profession, two doctors wen write in 2007 in The Israel Medical Association Journal. 😱🚫🔍💔
“We gotta do dis fo’ our patients, fo’ deir loved ones, an’ fo’ da victims of dese terrible acts,” Dr. Eric Matteson, one retired rheumatologist, he wen say. He one guy who help change da name of one disease called Wegener’s granulomatosis, dat wen affect da blood vessels. He wen say, “We gotta do what’s right fo’ dem.” So, in 2011, plenny medical groups wen replace Wegener’s syndrome wit’ “granulomatosis with polyangiitis” — one mouthful fo’ real. (But you can still find Wegener’s in da ICD-11.) 🙏💪💉
From den on, da search fo’ Nazi names was on! Dey wen find out Clara cells, da ones dat line da lungs an’ make mucus, dey was named aftah one Nazi doctor who wen do experiments on prisoners who was going get executed. Now dey call ’em club cells, ’cause dey shaped like one bulb. Den Reiter’s syndrome, one kine arthritis caused by bacterial infection, dey wen change da name to “reactive arthritis” aftah dey found out it was named aftah one doctor who wen do deadly typhus experiments on prisoners at da Buchenwald concentration camp. 😬🔬🏥💢
Plenny times, da new names make mo’ sense, yeah? Fo’ real, plenny doctors like descriptive terms bettah than eponyms. “Fo’ plenny of us, we no use eponyms ’cause dey no give us da right info ’bout da anatomy,” say Dr. Jason Organ, one anatomist from Indiana University. Instead of sayin’ “fallopian tube,” he say “uterine tube” make mo’ sense, yeah? He say, “It tell you what it is.” Plus, sometimes, da inconsistent use of eponyms can even lead to medical mistakes, Dr. Organ add. 😕📚🩺🚫
But no all anatomists agree wit’ dis cut-an’-run approach. Dr. Sabine Hildebrandt, one anatomical educator from Harvard Medical School, she wen train in Germany just before da truth ’bout Nazi medicine wen come out. Fo’ her, eponyms get one chance fo’ remind future doctors ’bout da path medicine gotta stay away from. She say, “I like fo’ see ’em not as honors, yeah? More like history markers — teachin’ moments.” 🌟📖📚👥
In her classes, Dr. Hildebrandt make sure fo’ mention Frey’s syndrome, one rare eponym dat honor both one female researcher an’ one victim of da Holocaust. Dis syndrome, it make people sweat heavy on their face when dey eat, an’ it get named aftah Lucja Frey-Gottesman, one Polish neurologist who da Nazis wen kill aftah dey wen send her to da Lvov ghetto. Dr. Hildebrandt also like tell her students ’bout Dr. Charlotte Pommer, one name dey probably nevah hear ’bout. In 1942, Dr. Pommer, one young German anatomist, she wen walk into her department director’s lab, Dr. Hermann Stieve, an’ see five bodies dat she know, part of one group fighting against da Nazis. She wen feel one mix of shock an’ horror, an’ she wen stop studyin’ anatomy right den an’ there. 😢💔💔🔬📚
Dr. Pommer, she nevah make it into da history books. Nobody wen name one part of da body aftah her, nobody wen list her as one author. Dr. Stieve, on da oddah hand, he wen get famous fo’ his contributions to medicine. He wen argue ’bout da rhythm method of birth control an’ study da effect of stress on da menstrual cycles of doomed female prisoners. Dr. Pommer, she wen live da rest of her life in da shadows, treatin’ victims of war in one nearby hospital. Dr. Hildebrandt, she like tell dis story fo’ show dat doctors from dat time, dey had oddah choices. You no need one body part named aftah you fo’ be remembered. Her 2016 book, “The Anatomy of Murder: Ethical Transgressions and Anatomical Science during the Third Reich,” she wen dedicate to Dr. Pommer. She say, “It’s ’bout settin’ da history straight.” 📖✍️🌍🚶♀️
If you tink ’bout ’em, eponyms kinda like da German tradition of Stolpersteine, or “stumblin’ stones.” Dey one kine brass plaques dat get put in cobblestone streets all ovah Europe. Dey wen make ’em fo’ remember da victims of da Holocaust, list deir names an’ da dates dey got taken from deir homes. Da idea is fo’ stop people in deir tracks an’ make ’em t’ink ’bout da past an’ da lives dat was lost. Same way, plenny scholars say medicine should throw away Nazi eponyms, but still keep da ones related to victims an’ resistahs fo’ honor deir stories. But da “right” side of history, it no stay still. As norms an’ standards change, an’ as scholars like Dr. Sheffer an’ Dr. Matteson keep findin’ new evidence, plenny mo’ eponyms goin’ fall from grace. “If you pull da right threads, plenny stuff goin’ come undone,” Dr. Organ say. 🚶♀️🔍📜🧪
Dr. Sheffer, she get one oddah issue wit’ eponyms: Sometimes, dey no even honor da right person! Da term “Asperger’s” wen start in da 1980s, an’ it was one suggestion from one British psychiatrist named Dr. Lorna Wing. But Dr. Wing wen do plenny mo’ research ’bout da condition dat would carry Dr. Asperger’s name. Dr. Sheffer say, “He no deserve da credit. If anyting, we should use da name Wing’s syndrome, ’cause we goin’ by her definition, not his.” 👩⚕️📚💡❌
But mo’ than anyting, we gotta get rid of eponyms dat honor da worst of us. Da ones who wen abuse deir power an’ break deir oath to do no harm. We cannot let da legacy of hate an’ cruelty linger in medicine’s halls. We gotta learn from da past, teach our future doctors ’bout da atrocities, an’ make sure medicine nevah goes down dat dark path again. Only den can we truly heal, an’ honor da true heroes an’ victims of da past. 💪🏥🕊️🙌
So, let’s toss ’em out like one rusty scalpel. Let’s bury ’em deep like bad memories. Let’s embrace a future where medicine is free from the stain of Nazi eponyms. Together, we can build a better, more inclusive, and compassionate healthcare system that reflects the values of healing and humanity. 🌟💙🩺🔬
NOW IN ENGLISH
🚫🧪💉 The Hunt for Eponyms: Should Medicine Still Be Concerned?
Discovered! Nazi-era doctors’ names continue to be associated with diseases and body parts. But if we eliminate them, will doctors forget the lessons of the past? 🕵️♂️💭💊
Edith Sheffer, an insightful scholar and mother, didn’t want her child to be labeled with Asperger’s syndrome. However, in 2016, a psychiatrist told him he should be proud because the condition was named after Dr. Hans Asperger, an Austrian scientist from the 1930s who used his expertise to help children like him. Dr. Asperger made a diagnosis that focused on the children’s brains, aiming to protect them from the Nazi’s campaign to “euthanize” kids with learning difficulties. 🧑⚕️🔬👨🎓✨
But Dr. Sheffer, now a historian from the University of California, Berkeley, spent years researching Dr. Asperger for her book, “Asperger’s Children,” published in 2018. She discovered that Dr. Asperger had aligned himself with the Nazis’ medical plan. 😮📚📖
The diagnosis he came up with was called “autistic psychopathy,” which was part of the Nazis’ larger medical scheme to categorize people into two groups: those deemed worthy of living and others considered unworthy. Dr. Sheffer also found out that Dr. Asperger himself had sentenced numerous children to death. In 2018, she stated, “I don’t want my son to be named after somebody who sent children like him to die.” 😔💔📢
By the time her book was published, Asperger’s syndrome was no longer listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. In 2013, it was placed under the umbrella term of autism spectrum disorder due to insufficient evidence to support a separate diagnosis. However, the shortened version of the name, “Asperger’s,” is still commonly used, particularly within the autism community, and some individuals even refer to themselves as “Aspies” after Asperger’s name. 📚🚫📝🔍
Dr. Sheffer is pleased to see that many medical groups, including the American Psychiatry Association and the World Health Organization, have mostly stopped using the name. She says, “I think the message has reached the medical community.” 😃🌎🩺🤝
Asperger’s syndrome was just one example of an eponym, a tradition of naming body parts, diseases, disorders, and tools after notable medical figures. The discontinuation of the name Asperger’s demonstrates the need to be cautious about idolizing individuals from the past and support the growing movement to abandon eponyms altogether. However, some experts argue that even if we “cancel” eponyms, we should still retain them as reminders for medicine to never repeat the dark aspects of the past. 📜👥🚫🦠
Eponyms were once considered the highest honor in medicine, akin to monuments for esteemed generals. They showcased respect for the brightest minds in the medical field and ensured their names would live on forever. Familiar examples include the fallopian tubes, named after Gabriele Falloppio, an Italian priest and anatomist who first described them. There are also eponyms like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Hodgkin’s diseases, all named after European medical figures. 👨⚕️🔬💡🌍.
