Světy slavných neurovědců – Kalvach Pavel (2021)

Alzheimer's disease, Babinski reflex, Bell's palsy, Charcot's osteoarthropathy, foramen Magendii, Sydenham's chorea, Willis circle, Pick's disease, Bernard-Horner syndrome, foramen Monroi, and many other technical terms are a common part of medical vocabulary. In the form of so-called eponyms, assigned to certain diseases, tests, reflexes, or anatomical structures, they remind us of their discoverers, enrich scientific terminology, and often facilitate professional communication. However, we do not always know to whom the names belong. Leading Czech neurologist Prof. MUDr. Pavel Kalvach, CSc., FEAN, has been studying the history of medicine for years and in his popular-scientific book, he traces the footsteps of several extraordinary personalities whose discoveries fundamentally influenced the development of neurology and psychiatry. The fates of famous doctors come alive before us, parading against the backdrop of historical and social events. We will learn how the lives of these famous discoverers unfolded, what difficulties they faced in their research, and that their success often involved other experts, whether as sympathizers or rivals. We will also see that the name of a scientist in an eponym does not necessarily carry their most significant discovery and that often it is not even about a discovery from...