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Names of infamy: Tainted eponyms

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Abstract

The use of eponyms is controversial. A distinction must be made between those doctors and scientists after whom disorders and syndromes are named in honour of their discoveries, and those whose discoveries were made as a result of maltreatment of defenceless prisoners, utilizing specimens from victims of Nazi extermination policies, and euthanasia victims of racial policies. The second group of scientists should have their names expunged from the historical record, and their deeds brought to the attention of their colleagues. We are not however advocating the abolition of eponyms in general, only tainted ones.

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Eponymous names are used in medicine, particularly in neurology, in order to denote the creative activity or discovery by doctors who have provided the original or definitive description of a disease process. They have made a major contribution to medical science and should therefore be honoured for their achievements. In medical teaching and history, there is a long tradition of eponymous nomenclature, often providing a simpler and more memorable label without a detailed summary of the main

Eponyms of victims of Nazi crimes as illustrative examples

The Jarisch–Herxheimer reaction is a reaction to endotoxins released by the death of harmful organisms within the body. Karl Herxheimer died in the Nazi concentration camp at Theresienstadt.

Niemann–Pick disease is an inherited condition involving lipid metabolism, which is the breakdown, transport, and use of fats and cholesterol in the body. In people with this condition, abnormal lipid metabolism causes harmful amounts of lipids to accumulate in the spleen, liver, lungs, bone marrow, and

Pantothenate kinase associated neurodegeneration

Pantothenate kinase associated neurodegeneration, also known as neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation, has formerly been called Hallervorden–Spatz syndrome. The use of this eponym is discouraged due to Julius Hallervorden’s and Hugo Spatz’s affiliation with the Nazi regime and the ethically unacceptable manner in which they obtained 110,000 autopsy specimens from 2800 psychiatric patients who were gassed [12], [13]. The condition is a degenerative disease of the brain that can lead to

Conflicts of Interest/Disclosures

The authors declare that they have no financial or other conflicts of interest in relation to this research and its publication.

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