Re: [HAPS-L] Eponyms, tanning, and breast cancer [not related to each other]

["Gary Heisermann" <garyheis@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Everyone,

I agree completely.  Any anatomical term that is in common use should 
be mentioned in our courses - we would be doing a disservice to our 
students otherwise.

And certainly there are plenty of inconveniently long, or odd, or even 
misleading [basal "ganglia"] terms out there.  But unless we have a way 
to completely remove older terms from use [obviously not possible] than 
trying to replace them with more correct terms, even when the new terms 
might be better and clearly descriptive, just gives everybody MORE 
terms to learn.  This does not feel like a benefit but a disservice to 
our students!

Don't like Fallopian tube?  Then use oviduct!  But now we also get to 
have "uterine tube".  Is this tube part of the uterus?  I realize that 
it leads to the uterus, but now there are THREE [at least] terms to 
describe this structure.  It is not such a big deal for us instructors 
to learn extra terms, but for students who are trying to learn this 
material for the first time it can be very frustrating.

So if you don't like an eponym [especially one that is widely accepted 
and in common use] I ask that you please just deal with it, and don't 
try and subject the world to more and more terms.

My two cents....

Gary Heisermann

Department of Biology
Salem State College
Salem,  MA  01970

gheisermann@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx  or   garyheis@xxxxxxxxxxx


On Nov 17, 2006, at 9:53 PM, John Cornell wrote:

> To all,
>
> As long as eponyms (e.g., Fallopian tube, Purkinje Fiber) are being 
> used we do a disservice to our students if we do not talk about them. 
> Since anatomical terms are introduced by primary and secondary 
> teachers, not to mention physicians, we can never be in complete 
> control of the language, except in classroom.  It many be fine to 
> accept only the Auditory Tube on an exam, but we haven't done a good 
> job if the ER physician refers to the Eustachian Tube and our now 
> practicing student is lost. 
>
> Who gets to decide  that Falloppio is worth remembering, but Wirsung 
> and Santorini are not?  We all do, but it will probably be a painful 
> process -- much like counting ballots in Forida.
>
> John
>
>

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