2013.3-1S.EponymsRussia

EPONYMS IN THE DERMATOLOGY LITERATURE LINKED TO RUSSIA

Ahmad Al Aboud¹, Khalid Al Aboud²

Corresponding author:  Dr. Khalid Al Aboud    e-mail: amoa65@hotmail.com

Cite this article: Al Aboud A, Al Aboud K Eponyms in the dermatology literature linked to Russia. Our Dermatol Online. 2013; 4(Suppl. 1): 414-415.

Russia, also officially known as the Russian Federation. At 17,075,400 square kilometres, Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one-eighth of the Earth’s inhabited land area. Russia is also the world’s ninth most populous nation with 143 million people as of 2012 [1]. The Russian economy is one of the world’s fastest growing. Its extensive mineral and energy resources, the largest reserves in the world, have made it one of the largest producer of oil and natural gas globally. It is a great power and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council [1]. In this communication, we aim to highlights on selected eponyms in dermatology literature,linked to Russia, shown in Table I [2-5].

 

Eponyms in the dermatology literature linked to Russia	Remarks
Abrikossoff tumor [2]	It is another name for granular cell tumors (GCT). GCT is uncommon mesenchymal soft tissue neoplasm of Schwann cell origin. This tumor may occur throughout the body, usually in the head and neck, skin or subcutaneous tissues of the trunk and upper extremities, breasts and female genital region. It is usually benign and solitary; however, approximately 2% occur as malignant tumors, and 5–10 % as multiple lesions. It is first described in 1926, by Aleksei Ivanovich Abrikossoff (1875-1955), (Fig. 1), who was a Russian/Soviet pathologist. His wife Fanya Davidovna Vulf-Abrikosova, 1895-1965, was a pathologist too and in 1927 at the first time described deposits of Bence-Jones protein (B-J crystals) in tissues. Their only son, Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov, a theoretical physicist and a co-recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physics, for a work about how matter can behave at extremely low temperatures. On the morning of January 23, 1924, Abrikosov was given a task to embalm Lenin’s body to keep it intact until the burial. The body is still on permanent display in the Lenin Mausoleum in Moscow. Figure 1. Aleksei Ivanovich Abrikossoff (1875-1955)
Nikolsky’s sign [3-5]	The sign is encountered in blistering disorders, and it is present when slight rubbing of the skin results in exfoliation of the outermost layer of the skin. Named for, Russian dermatologist Pyotr Vasiliyevich Nikolskiy (1858-1940), (Fig. 2). Nikolskiy studied medicine at the medical faculty of the University of Kiev (now National Medical University). In 1900, he became a professor at Warsaw, and later worked as a professor in Rostov. Nikolsky’s sign is useful in differentiating between pemphigus vulgaris (where it is present) and bullous pemphigoid (where it is absent). The Asboe-Hansen sign (also known as „indirect Nikolsky sign” refers to the extension of a blister to adjacent unblistered skin when pressure is put on the top of the bulla. This sign is named for Gustav Asboe-Hansen (1917–1989), who was a Danish physician. Figure 2. Piotr Vasiliyevich Nikolskiy (1858-1940)
Sheklakov sign [5]	Nikolay Dmitriyevich Sheklakov (1918-1989), (Fig. 3), who was Professor and Chairman of the Department of Dermatology and Venereology at the Moscow School of Dentistry, Moscow, Russia (then the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), described the sign of perifocal subepidermal separation (“false Nikolskiy sign”), which is also known in the modern dermatologic literature published in Russian as the Sheklakov sign. In contrast to the true Nikolskiy sign, perifocal subepidermal separation is induced at the periphery of blisters with a subepidermal location by pulling the remnant from the blister roof or wall. The induced erosions are limited in size, do not have a tendency to subsequent spontaneous extension, and heal fast. Figure 3. Nikolay Dmitriyevich Sheklakov (1918-1989)

             Table I. Selected Eponyms in the dermatology literature linked to Russia

 

REFERENCES

1. Russia.Wikipedia® [Internet]. Wikimedia Foundation. [Updated 14 May 2013; cited 14 May 2013]. Available from: http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Russia

2. Chen J, Wang L, Xu J, Pan T, Shen J, Hu W, et al: Malignant granular cell tumor with breast metastasis: A case report and review of the literature. Oncol Lett. 2012;4:63-6.

3. Channual J, Wu JJ: The Nikolskiy sign. Arch Dermatol. 2008;144:1140.

4. Al Aboud K, Al Hawsawi K, Ramesh V, Al Aboud D, Al Githami A: Cutaneous signs. Skinmed. 2003;2:104-7.

5. Grando SA, Grando AA, Glukhenky BT, Doguzov V, Nguyen VT, Holubar K: History and clinical significance of mechanical symptoms in blistering dermatoses: a reappraisal. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2003;48:86-92.