An eponymous disease is one that has been named after the person who first described the condition. This usually involves publishing an article in a respected medical journal. Rarely an eponymous disease may be named after a patient (examples include Christmas disease, Lou Gehrig's disease, Hartnup disease and Mortimer's disease).

Related disease namings include place names (Bornholm disease, Lyme disease, Ebola hemorrhagic fever) and even societies (Legionnaires disease). These, however, are not eponyms.

Eponyms are a longstanding tradition in western science and medicine. Being awarded an eponym is regarded as an honour: "eponymity, not anonymity, is the standard" (Merton R K, 1973). It is regarded as bad form to attempt to eponymise yourself. At a time when medicine lacked the tools to investigate the underlying causes of many syndromes, the eponym was a convenient mechanism for attaching a label to a disease. In order to freely discuss something, it must have a name.

In 1975, the US National Institutes of Health held a conference where the naming of diseases and conditions was discussed. This was reported in The Lancet (1975;i:513) where the conclusion was that "The possessive use of an eponym should be discontinued, since the author neither had nor owned the disorder." Medical journals, dictionaries and style guides remain divided on this issue.

There is a trend away from the use of eponymous disease names towards a medical name that describes either the cause or the primary signs. Reasons for this include:

• The name confers no information other than the historical.
• There can be a Western bias to the choices.
• History sometimes shows the credit should have gone to a different person.
• Different countries may have different eponyms for the same disease.
• Several eponyms may turn out to be the same disease (example: amyloid degeneration is also called Abercrombie's disease, Abercrombie's syndrome, and Virchow's syndrome).

Arguments for maintaining eponyms include:

• The name may be more memorable and shorter than the medical one (the latter requiring abbreviation to its acronym)
• Sometimes the medical name proves to be incorrect.
• The syndrome may have more than one cause, yet it remains useful to consider it as a whole.
• It continues to give respect to a person who may otherwise have been forgotten.

Alphabetical list

A

• Aarskog-Scott syndrome – Dagfinn Aarskog, Charles Scott
• Aase-Smith – Jon Morton Aase, David Weyhe Smith
• Abdallat-Davis-Farrage syndrome – Adnan Al Abdallat, S.M. Davis, James Robert Farrage
• Abderhalden-Kaufmann-Lignac syndrome – Emil Abderhalden, Eduard Kauffman, George Lignac
• Abercrombie disease – John Abercrombie
• Achard-Thiers syndrome – Emile Achard, Joseph Thiers
• Ackerman tumor – Lauren Ackerman
• Addison disease – Thomas Addison
• Adson-Caffey syndrome – Alfred Adson, I.R. Caffey
• Aicardi syndrome – Jean Aicardi
• Alagille syndrome – Daniel Alagille
• Albers-Schönberg disease – Heinrich Albers-Schönberg
• Albright syndrome – Fuller Albright
• Albright-Butler-Bloomberg disease – Fuller Albright, Allan Macy Butler, Esther Bloomberg
• Albright-Hadorn syndrome – Fuller Albright, Walter Hadorn
• Aleutian disease – Aleutian Islands
• Alexander disease – William Stuart Alexander
• Alice in Wonderland syndrome – Lewis Carroll's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
• Alpers disease – Bernard Jacob Alpers
• Alport syndrome – Arthur Cecil Alport
• Alström syndrome – Carl Henry Alström
• Alzheimer disease – Alois Alzheimer
• Anders disease – James Meschter Anders
• Andersen disease – Dorothy Andersen
• Anderson-Fabry disease – William Anderson, Johannes Fabry
• Angelman syndrome – Harry Angelman
• Angelucci syndrome – Arnaldo Angelucci
• Anton-Babinski syndrome – Gabriel Anton, Joseph Babinski
• Apert syndrome – Eugène Apert
• Aran-Duchenne spinal muscular atrophy – François-Amilcar Aran , Guillaume Duchenne
• Armanni-Ebstein nephropathy – Luciano Armanni, Wilhelm Ebstein
• Arnold-Chiari malformation – Julius Arnold, Hans Chiari
• Arthus phenomenon
• Asherman syndrome – Joseph G. Asherman
• Asperger syndrome – Hans Asperger
• Avellis syndrome – Georg Avellis
• Ayerza syndrome – Abel Ayerza
• Ayerza-Arrillaga syndrome – Abel Ayerza, Francisco Arrillaga

B

• Babington disease – Benjamin Babington
• Babinski syndrome – Joseph Babinski
• Babinski-Fröhlich syndrome – Joseph Babinski, Alfred Fröhlich
• Babinski-Froment syndrome – Joseph Babinski, Jules Froment
• Babinski-Nageotte syndrome – Joseph Babinski, Jean Nageotte
• Bahima disease
• Baker cyst – William Morrant Baker
• Balkan nephropathy
• Baló's disease – Jószef Baló
• Bamberger disease – Heinrich von Bamberger
• Bamberger-Marie disease – Eugen von Bamberger, Pierre Marie
• Bancroft filariasis – Joseph Bancroft
• Bang's disease – Bernhard Bang
• Banti disease – Guido Banti
• Bárány syndrome – Robert Bárány
• Barlow disease – Thomas Barlow
• Barlow syndrome – John Barlow
• Barraquer-Simons syndrome – Luis Barraquer Roviralta, Arthur Simons
• Barré-Liéou syndrome – Jean Alexandre Barré, Yang-Choen Liéou
• Barrett's ulcer – Norman Barrett
• Bart-Pumphrey syndrome – R.S. Bart, R.E. Pumphrey
• Bartholin cyst – Caspar Bartholin
• Bartter syndrome – Frederic Bartter
• Basedow disease – Karl Adolph von Basedow
• Basedow syndrome – Karl Adolph von Basedow
• Bassen-Kornzweig syndrome – Frank Bassen, Abraham Kornzweig
• Batten disease – Frederick Batten
• Bazin disease – Pierre-Antoine-Ernest Bazin
• Becker muscular dystrophy – Peter Emil Becker
• Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome – John Bruce Beckwith, Hans-Rudolf Wiedemann
• Behçet disease – Hulusi Behçet
• Bekhterev disease – Vladimir Bekhterev
• Bell palsy – Charles Bell
• Benedikt syndrome – Moritz Benedikt
• Benjamin syndrome – E. Benjamin
• Berger's disease – Jean Berger
• Bergeron disease – Etienne-Jules Bergeron
• Bernard syndrome – Claude Bernard
• Bernard-Soulier syndrome – Jean Bernard, Jean Pierre Soulier
• Bernhardt-Roth paraesthesia – Martin Bernhardt, Vladimir Karlovich Roth
• Bernheim syndrome – Hippolyte Bernheim
• Besnier prurigo – Ernest Henri Besnier
• Besnier-Boeck-Schaumann disease – Ernest Henri Besnier, Cæsar Peter Møller Boeck, Jörgen Nilsen Schaumann
• Biermer anaemia – Michael Anton Biermer
• Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis – Edwin Bickerstaff
• Bilharzia – Theodor Maximilian Bilharz
• Bing-Neel syndrome – Jens Bing, Axel Valdemar Neel
• Binswanger dementia – Otto Binswanger
• Bland-White-Garland syndrome – Edward Franklin Bland, Paul Dudley White, Joseph Garland
• Bloom syndrome – David Bloom
• Blount syndrome – Walter Putnam Blount
• Boerhaave syndrome – Herman Boerhaave
• Bogorad syndrome – F.A. Bogorad
• Bonnevie-Ullrich syndrome – Kristine Bonnevie, Otto Ullrich
• Bourneville-Pringle disease – Désiré-Magloire Bourneville, John James Pringle
• Bowen disease – John T. Bowen
• Brailsford-Morquio syndrome – James Frederick Brailsford, Luís Morquio
• Brandt syndrome – Thore Edvard Brandt
• Brenner tumour – Fritz Brenner
• Brewer kidney – George Emerson Brewer
• Bright disease – Richard Bright
• Brill-Symmers disease – Nathan Brill, Douglas Symmers
• Brill-Zinsser disease – Nathan Brill, Hans Zinsser
• Briquet syndrome – Paul Briquet
• Brissaud disease – Édouard Brissaud
• Brissaud-Sicard syndrome – Édouard Brissaud, Jean Athanase Sicard
• Broadbent apoplexy – William Broadbent
• Brock syndrome – Russell Claude Brock
• Brodie abscess – Benjamin Collins Brodie
• Brodie syndrome – Benjamin Collins Brodie
• Brooke epithelioma – Henry Ambrose Grundy Brooke
• Brown-Séquard syndrome – Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard
• Brucellosis – David Bruce
• Brugada syndrome
• Bruns syndrome – Ludwig Bruns
• Bruton-Gitlin syndrome – Ogden Carr Bruton, David Gitlin
• Budd-Chiari syndrome – George Budd, Hans Chiari
• Buerger disease – Leo Buerger
• Bumpke syndrome – Oswald Conrad Edouard Bumke
• Burger-Grutz syndrome – Max Burger, Otto Grutz
• Burkitt lymphoma – Denis Parsons Burkitt
• Burnett syndrome – Charles Hoyt Burnett
• Byler disease
• Bywaters syndrome – Eric Bywaters

C

• Caffey-Silverman syndrome – John Patrick Caffey, William Aaron Silverman
• Caisson disease – Caisson
• Calvé disease – Jacques Calvé
• Canavan disease – Myrtelle Canavan
• Cannon syndrome – Walter Cannon
• Capgras syndrome – Joseph Capgras
• Caplan syndrome – Anthony Caplan
• Caroli syndrome – J. Caroli
• Carrión's disease – Daniel Alcides Carrión
• Castleman disease – Benjamin Castleman
• Céstan-Chenais syndrome – Étienne Jacques Marie Raymond Céstan,Louis Jean Chennais
• Chagas disease – Carlos Chagas
• Charcot's disease – Jean-Martin Charcot
• Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease – Jean-Martin Charcot, Pierre Marie, Howard Henry Tooth
• Cheadle's disease – Walter Butler Cheadle
• Chédiak-Higashi syndrome – Alexander Chédiak,Otokata Higashi
• Chiari-Frommel syndrome – Johann Baptist Chiari,Richard Frommel
• Chilaiditi syndrome – Demetrius Chilaiditi
• Christ-Siemens-Touraine syndrome – Josef Christ, Hermann Werner Siemens, Albert Touraine
• Christensen-Krabbe disease – Erna Christensen, Knud Krabbe
• Christmas disease – Stephen Christmas
• Churg-Strauss syndrome – Jacob Churg, Lotte Straus
• Claude syndrome – Henri Claude
• Clerambault syndrome – Gaëtan Gatian de Clerambault
• Clerambault-Kandinsky syndrome – Gaëtan Gatian de Clerambault, Victor Kandinsky
• Coats disease – George Coats
• Cock peculiar tumor – Edward Cock
• Cockayne syndrome – Edward Cockayne
• Cogan's syndrome – David Glendenning Cogan
• Colles' fracture – Abraham Colles
• Collet-Sicard syndrome – Frédéric Justin Collet, Jean Athanase Sicard
• Concato disease – Luigi Maria Concato
• Conn's Syndrome – Jerome Conn
• Cooley anaemia – Thomas Benton Cooley
• Cori disease (see Glycogen storage disease type III) – Carl Ferdinand Cori
• Cornelia de Lange syndrome – Cornelia Catharina de Lange
• Costen syndrome – James Bray Costen
• Crigler-Najjar syndrome – John Fielding Crigler, Victor Assad Najjar
• Crocq-Cassirer syndrome – Jean Crocq, Richard Cassirer
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease – Hans Gerhard Creutzfeldt, Alfons Maria Jakob
• Crohn's disease – Burrill Bernard Crohn
• Cronkite-Canada syndrome – L.W. Cronkite, Wilma Canada
• Crouzon syndrome – Octave Crouzon
• Cruveilhier-Baumgarten disease – Léon Cruveilhier, Paul Clemens von Baumgarten
• Cruz disease – Osvaldo Gonçalves Cruz
• Curling ulcer – Thomas Blizard Curling
• Curschmann-Batten-Steinert syndrome – Hans Curschmann, Frederick Batten, Hans Gustav Steinhart
• Cushing's disease – Harvey Cushing

D

• Da Costa syndrome – Jacob Mendez Da Costa
• Dalrymple disease – John Dalrymple
• Danbolt-Closs syndrome – Niels Christian Gauslaa Danbolt, Karl Philipp Closs
• de Quervain's disease
• Dejerine-Sottas disease
• Dent's disease
• Devic's disease
• Di Guglielmo's disease
• Donovanosis
• Down syndrome – John Langdon Down
• Dressler's syndrome
• Duane syndrome
• Dubin-Johnson syndrome
• Duncan's disease

E

• Eale's disease
• Edwards syndrome—John H. Edwards

F

• Fabry's disease
• Fanconi anaemia
• Farber's disease
• Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome
• Foix-Alajouanine disease
• Forbe's disease (see Glycogen storage disease type III)
• Franklin's disease
• Friedreich's ataxia

G

• Gaucher's disease
• Ghon focus – Anton Ghon
• Gilbert syndrome – Augustin Nicolas Gilbert, French gastroenterologist
• Graves' disease
• Graves-Basedow disease – Robert James Graves, Karl Adolph von Basedow
• Grawitz' tumor (nephrocellular carcinoma)
• Guam disease
• Guillain-Barré syndrome – Georges Guillain, Jean Alexandre Barré
• Gunther's disease

H

• Hailey-Hailey disease
• Hallervorden-Spatz disease
• Hansen's disease – Gerhard Armauer Hansen
• Hartnup disease
• Hashimoto's thyroiditis – Hakaru Hashimoto
• Heyde's syndrome
• Hirschsprung's disease – Harald Hirschsprung, Danish physician
• Hodgkin's disease, Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma – Thomas Hodgkin
• Huntington's disease

J

• Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease

K

• Kabuki syndrome also known as "Kabuki makeup syndrome"
• Kaposi sarcoma – Moritz Kaposi, Hungarian dermatologist
• Kashin-Beck disease
• Kawasaki disease
• Kearns-Sayre syndrome
• Keshen disease
• Kienbock's disease
• Kikuchi's disease
• Kimmelstiel-Wilson disease
• Kimura's disease
• Kinsbourne's syndrome
• Klatskin's tumor
• Klinefelter's syndrome
• Klüver-Bucy syndrome
• Köhler's bone disease
• Korsakoff syndrome
• Krabbe's disease
• Kugelberg-Weland disease

L

• Lafora's disease
• Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease
• Leigh's disease
• Leiner's disease
• Lenègre's disease
• Lesch-Nyhan syndrome
• Letterer-Siwe disease
• Lev's disease
• Libman-Sacks disease
• Lobomycosis
• Löffler's eosinophilic endocarditis
• Lou Gehrig's disease
• Ludwig's angina

M

• Machado-Joseph disease (Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3)
• Maladie de Charcot, French name for Motor Neurone Disease – Jean-Martin Charcot, a French neurologist
• Marfan syndrome
• McArdle's glycogen storage disease
• Ménétrier's disease
• Ménière’s disease – Prosper Meniere
• Menke's disease
• Minamata disease – Minamata, Japan
• Mondor's disease
• Monge's disease
• Mucha-Habermann disease

N

• Naxos disease
• Noonan syndrome

O

• Ondine's curse
• Ormond disease
• Osgood-Schlatter disease

P

• Paget's disease of bone (* Paget's disease)
• Paget's disease of the breast (* Paget's disease of the nipple)
• Paget's disease of the penis
• Parkinson's disease – Dr. James Parkinson
• Patau syndrome
• Pelizeus-Merzbacher disease
• Peyronie's disease
• Pick's disease – Arnold Pick
• Pickardt syndrome
• Plummer's disease
• Pompe's disease
• Pott's disease – Percivall Pott
• Prinzmetal angina– Myron Prinzmetal

R

• Raynaud's disease – Maurice Raynaud, French physician
• Refsum's disease
• Reiter's syndrome
• Reye's syndrome
• Riley-Day syndrome
• Ritter's disease
• Roger's disease
• Rotor syndrome – Arturo Belleza Rotor, Filipino internist
• Rubenstein-Taybi syndrome

S

• Salmonella – Daniel Elmer Salmon
• Sandhoff's disease
• Scahmberg's disease
• Schinzel-Giedion Syndrome – Drs. Albert Schinzel and Andreas Giedion, who first described the syndrome in a professional journal
• Seligmann's disease
• Sever's disease
• Simmond's disease
• Steele-Richardson-Olszewski syndrome
• Stevens-Johnson syndrome
• Still's disease

T

• Takayasu's arteritis
• Tangier disease
• Tay-Sachs disease
• Thomsen's disease
• Tourette syndrome (Georges Albert Édouard Brutus Gilles de la Tourette)
• Treacher Collins syndrome is the common name for mandibulofacial dysostosis
• Turner's syndrome

U

• Unverricht-Lundborg disease

V

• Vincent's angina
• Von Gierke's disease
• Von Hippel-Lindau disease – Dr. Eugen von Hippel
• Von Recklinghausen's disease (* neurofibromatosis)
• Von Willebrand's disease – Erik Adolf von Willebrand

W

• Waldenstrom's macroglobulinaemia
• Warkany syndrome (trisomy)
• Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome
• Weber-Christian disease
• Wegener's granulomatosis
• Werner's syndrome
• Wernicke's encephalopathy
• Whipple's disease – George Hoyt Whipple
• Wilms' tumor – Dr Max Wilms, a German surgeon
• Wilson's disease
• Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome – Alfred Wiskott, Robert Aldrich
• Wohlfart-Kugelberg-Welander disease
• Wolman disease

X Y Z

• Zieve's syndrome
• Zollinger-Ellison syndrome

See also

• List of eponymous medical signs for a list of medical signs named after people.
• List of eponyms for a complete list of eponyms sorted by name
• Lists of etymologies
• Syndrome

External links

• WhoNamedIt.com, a site dedicated to medical eponyms and their namesakes.
• What's in a Name: The Eponymic Route to Imortality

Eponymous diseases | Lists of eponyms