These are terms originally named after a person.
For example, the fallopian tube was named after Gabriele Fallopio, an Italian anatomist of the 16th century.
Such terms are being replaced with more informative names, but this takes time.
The following is a list of eponymous terms followed by modern anatomical names.
- Achilles reflex – plantar reflex
- Achilles tendon – calcaneal tendon
- Adam’s apple – thyroid cartilage
- ampulla of Vater – hepatopancreatic ampulla
- aqueduct of Sylvius – cerebral aqueduct
- Auerbach’s plexus – myenteric plexus
- Bartholin’s glands – greater vestibular glands
- Bowman’s capsule – glomerular capsule
- Broca’s area – motor speech area
- Brunner’s glands – duodenal submucosal glands
- bundle of His – atrioventricular bundle
- canal of Schlemm – scleral venous sinus
- Circle of Willis – cerebral arterial circle
- Cowper’s glands – bulbourethral glands
- crypts of Lieberkühn – intestinal glands
- duct of Santorini – accessory pancreatic duct
- duct of Wirsung – pancreatic duct
- Eustachian tube – auditory tube
- fallopian tube – uterine tube
- fissure of Rolando – central sulcus
- fissure of Sylvius – lateral cerebral sulcus
- Graafian follicle – vesicular ovarian follicle
- Grave’s disease – hyperthyroidism
- Haversian canal – central canal
- Haversian system – osteon
- Heimlich maneuver – abdominal thrust maneuver
- islet of Langerhans – pancreatic islet
- Krebs cycle – citric acid cycle
- Kupffer cells – stellate reticuloendothelial cells
- Langerhans’ cell – non-pigmented granular dendrocyte
- Leydig cells – interstitial cells
- loop of Henle – loop of the nephron
- Meissner’s corpuscles – tactile corpuscles
- Meissner’s plexus – submucosal plexus
- Nodes of Ranvier – neurofibral nodes
- organ of Corti – spiral organ
- Pacinian corpuscle – lamellated corpuscle
- Peyer’s patches – aggregated lymph nodules
- Purkinje fibers – cardiac conducting myofibers
- Schwann cell – neurolemmocyte
- Sertoli cells – sustentacular cells
- sphincter of Boyden – sphincter of the common bile duct
- sphincter of Oddi – sphincter of the hepatopancreatic ampulla
- Stensen’s duct – parotid duct
- Volkmann’s canal – perforating canal, nutrient canal
- Wernicke’s area – auditory association area
- Wharton’s duct – submandibular duct
- Wormian bone – sutural bone