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Our Dermatol Online.  2013; 4(Suppl. 2): 433-434
DOI:.  10.7241/ourd.20133.111
Date of submission:  05.05.2013 / acceptance:28.06.2013
Conflicts of interest: None
 

EPONYMS IN THE DERMATOLOGY LITERATURE LINKED TO AUSTRIA

Khalid Al Aboud1, Ahmad Al Aboud2

1Department of Public Health, King Faisal Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
2Dermatology Department, King Abdullah Medical City, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
 

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

Cite this article: Al Aboud K, Al Aboud A. Eponyms in the dermatology literature linked to Austria. Our Dermatol Online. 2013; 4(Suppl. 2): 433-434.

 

Austria is one of the European countries with roughly 8.47 million people [1]. Its official language is German. It is one of the richest countries in the world. The country has developed a high standard of living and in 2011 was ranked 19th in the world for its Human Development Index [1]. Austria was the cradle of numerous scientists with international reputation. It was, and still, the birthplace of many excellent dermatologists. Several eponyms, in dermatology literature are linked to Austria. In Table 1 [2-10], we are giving some examples of eponyms, in dermatology literature linked to Austria.
 
Eponyms in the dermatology
literature linked to Austria
Remarks
Auspitz’s sign [2]
Pinpoint bleeding on removal of a psoriasis scale. Named after Heinrich Auspitz (1835-1886), (Fig. 1), who was an Austrian dermatologist.
Figure 1. Heinrich Auspitz
(1835-1886)
Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction (JHR)
[3,4]
The Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction (JHR) is a transient immunological phenomenon seen commonly in patients during treatment for syphilis, and it manifests clinically with short-term constitutional symptoms such as fever, chills, headache and myalgias, besides exacerbation of existing cutaneous lesions. Adolf Jarisch (1850-1902) was an Austrian dermatologist. Karl Herxheimer (1861-1942) was a German dermatologist.
Kaposi sarcoma [5]
It is a mesenchymal tumor that involves blood and lymphatic vessels and that affects multiple organs, most commonly the skin. It was first described as “idiopathic multiple pigmented sarcoma” by Moritz Kaposi Kohn (1837-1902), (Fig. 2), in 1872. Kaposi was born in Hungary, and graduated in medicine from the University of Vienna. He was one of the first to establish dermatology based on anatomic pathology. His book, Pathology and Therapy of the Skin Diseases in Lectures for Practical Physicians and Students, became one of the most significant books in the history of dermatology and was translated into several languages.
Figure 2. Moritz Kaposi Kohn (1837-1902)
Kyrle disease [6]
 This is another name for hyperkeratosis follicularis et parafollicularis in cutem penetrans, first described by Kyrle in 1916.Josef Kyrle (1880-1926), was an Austrian pathologist and
dermatologist.
Leiner syndrome [7]
 Karl Leiner (1871-1930) was a well-known Austrian pediatrician. In the 1908, he studied 43
babies with a triad of diarrhea weight loss and dermatitis. Later on this clinical phenotype
becomes known as Leiner syndrome.
Lisch nodule [8]

It is a pigmented hamartomatous nodular aggregate of dendritic melanocytes affecting the iris, named after Austrian ophthalmologist Karl Lisch (1907–1999), (Fig. 3), who first recognized them in 1937.

Figure 3. Karl Lisch (1907-1999)
Lipschütz’ ulcer [9]
 Lipschütz acute genital ulcer is a rare distinctive cause of non-venereal acute genital ulcers that occurs particularly in adolescents described in 1913. The etiology is unknown, although recent reports have associated it with the Epstein-Barr virus. The diagnosis is made by exclusion after ruling out sexually transmitted diseases, autoimmune causes, trauma, and other etiologies of genital ulcerations. It is named after Benjamin Lipschütz (1878-1931), an Austrian dermatologist and microbiologist.
Mucha–Habermann disease [10]

This is another name for, pityriasis lichenoides et varioliformis acuta (PLEVA). Viktor
Mucha (1877-1933), (Fig. 4), was a dermatologist from Austria. He was involved in early syphilis research. Rudolf Habermann (1884-1941), was a German dermatologist.

Figure 4. Viktor Mucha (1877-1933)

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

 
REFERENCES
1. Austria.Wikipedia® [Internet]. Wikimedia Foundation. [Updated 3 May 2013; cited 3 May 2013]. Available from: http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Austria
2. Holubar K: The man behind the eponym. Remembering Heinrich Auspitz. Am J Dermatopathol. 1986;8:83-5.
3. Belum GR, Belum VR, Chaitanya Arudra SK, Reddy BS: The Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction: Revisited. Travel Med Infect Dis. 2013:27.
4. Dunst KM, Gurunluoglu R, Aubock J, Sakho C, Huemer GM: Adolf Jarisch (1850-1902): an important contributor to Austrian dermatology. Arch Dermatol Res. 2006;297:383-8.
5. Al Aboud K,Al Aboud A: Eponyms in the dermatology literature linked to the vascular tumors. Our Dermatol Online. 2013;4:392-4.
6. Holubar K: The man behind the eponym. Hyperkeratosis follicularis et parafollicularis in cutem penetrans. Josef Kyrle and „his” disease. Am J Dermatopathol. 1985;7:261-3.
7. Al Aboud K, Al Aboud A: Karl Leiner (1871-1930) and his Syndrome. Asian J Dermatol. 2012;4:14-5.
8. Al Aboud K, Al Aboud D: Eponyms in the dermatolopathology literature linked to neural tissues. Our Dermatol Online. 2013;4:395- 8.
9. Al Aboud K, Al Aboud A: Eponyms in dermatology literature linked to genital skin disorders. Our Dermatol Online. 2013;4:245-8.
10. Luger A: [The significance of Karl Landsteiner’s works for syphilis research]. Wien Klin Wochenschr. 1991;103:146-51.

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