- A dictionary of medical eponyms

Hammond's disease

Related people

A disturbance with onset months after birth when complex motor activity develops, such as sitting, standing, and walking.

It is characterised by slow, writhing, purposeless movements mainly affecting the hands and face, with forced laughter and crying. Disturbance of posture is mainly contractures in position with flexion of the knees. There is also disturbance of tonus with over stretchable joint. Besides athetosis spastic and cerebral signs also occur. Lesions of the midbrain, thalamic nuclei, pallidostratium, and internal capsule of the cerebral cortex are the cause of this disorder. Most patients are good-natured and have normal intelligence. Premature infants frequently affected. Both dominant and recessive autosomal types.

The term ”athetosis” means ”without fixed position”.

In his assessment of the two cases, Hammond found reason to remark: ”the analogies of the affection are with chorea and cerebro-spinal sclerosis, but is neither of these diseases. One probable seat of the morbid process is in the corpus striatum.”

Bibliography

  • W. A. Hammond:
    Treatise on diseases of the nervous system.
    New York, 1871. Pp. 654-662 Athetosis.
    Medical Times and Gazette, London, 1871, 2: 747-748.
  • C. Vogt:
    Quelques considérations générales à propos du syndrome due Corps strié.
    Journal für Psychologie und Neurologie, 1911, 18: 479-429.
  • C. Vogt, O. Vogt:
    Zur Lehre der Erkrankungen des Striäten Systems.
    Journal für Psychologie und Neurologie, 1920, 25: 627-846.

What is an eponym?

An eponym is a word derived from the name of a person, whether real or fictional. A medical eponym is thus any word related to medicine, whose name is derived from a person.

What is Whonamedit?

Whonamedit.com is a biographical dictionary of medical eponyms. It is our ambition to present a complete survey of all medical phenomena named for a person, with a biography of that person.

Disclaimer:

Whonamedit? does not give medical advice.
This survey of medical eponyms and the persons behind them is meant as a general interest site only. No information found here must under any circumstances be used for medical purposes, diagnostically, therapeutically or otherwise. If you, or anybody close to you, is affected, or believe to be affected, by any condition mentioned here: see a doctor.