La eponimia “laudatoria” del lenguaje médico: origen y desarrollo en los siglos xviii y xix

Abstract

[ES] La eponimia médica que podríamos calificar de “laudatoria” ha alcanzado en nuestros días unas cotas llamativas. Una forma de eponimia que diversos autores de comienzos del siglo xx identificaban como algo propio de entonces. Sin embargo, el análisis de las fuentes, en este caso, los diccionarios médicos de los siglos xviii y xix, pone de manifiesto que el origen de esos epónimos arranca mucho tiempo atrás. En este trabajo se presentan los datos encontrados en tales diccionarios, a la vez que se ofrecen explicaciones sobre el surgimiento de este tipo de denominación en las distintas áreas de la medicina.

Abstract Medical eponymy, which could be described as “laudatory”, has nowadays reached remarkable levels. It is an eponymy that various authors of the early 20th century identified as being characteristic of the time. However, an analysis of the sources, in this case the medical dictionaries published in the 18th and 19th centuries, shows that the origin of these eponyms goes well back in time. This paper presents the data found in these dictionaries, while offering explanations for the emergence of this type of designation in the different areas of medicine.

[EN] Medical eponymy, which could be described as “laudatory”, has nowadays reached remarkable levels. It is an eponymy that various authors of the early 20th century identified as being characteristic of the time. However, an analysis of the sources, in this case the medical dictionaries published in the 18th and 19th centuries, shows that the origin of these eponyms goes well back in time. This paper presents the data found in these dictionaries, while offering explanations for the emergence of this type of designation in the different areas of medicine.Keywords: laudatory medical eponymy; history of medical language; history of medical lexicography; medical dictionaries; 18th century; 19th century.