June 2009

In Case You Were Wondering

The Heimlich Maneuver turns 35 this month. Dr. Henry Heimlich is credited with first writing about his maneuver in 1974 (although the formal monograph dates to 1976). In case you were wondering, Heimlich keeps good company in the Medical Dictionary; that reference work is rich in medical eponyms ranging from Adams-Stokes syndrome to Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.

Interested in finding medical lingo named for MDs? Select the Medical Dictionary as your reference, then select Biography from the Search Type drop-down menu. Next, type physician into the search box; you'll get 202 entries. Two terms to tickle the humerus are bundle of His and sphincter of Oddi. Or do your own exploration by typing doctor, nurse, or surgeon into the Biography search box.