Iranian Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine

Mendeley  

Zotero  

Farnamian Y, Rasmi A. Correlation between the Eponyms of Medical Sciences and Mythology. IJMEHM 2021; 14 :348-362
URL: http://ijme.tums.ac.ir/article-1-6405-en.html

The medical terms currently used are derived from a variety of sources. These terms are often derived from an eponym. Eponyms are a long-standing tradition in medicine. Eponyms usually involve honoring a prominent physician-scientist who played a significant role in identifying the disease or the person who first reported the disease or the area where a disease first broke out in there. Eponyms are sometimes associated with myth, literature, and art. Of course, the mythological, literary, and artistic figures used in medicine as eponyms are mostly related to Greek and Roman mythology and English and German literature. However, without knowing the ancient records of a disease such as Sarsam (delirium), Barsam (pleurisy), Da'alfil (elephantiasis), Da'al-Raqs (chorea), Pisi (Vitiligo), Degg (languish), Zat-ul- reyeh (Pneumonia), and Zat-ul-Janb (pleurisy), one can specialize in medicine, but, recalling of literary and mythological letters, even those that have no practical application today or have been forgotten somewhere in the history of medicine, can soften medical science and allow us to link science and art. In this article, eponyms that are related to the sciences of anatomy and biochemistry are studied based on myth.