Professional Documents
Culture Documents
historical controversy due to association with the heinous crimes the Third Reich. Eponyms distinction is one of the
greatest honors a physician can earn, providing a convenient short hand while conveying appreciation of our
professional forbears. This honor however should be reconsidered in the following cases.
Content Organization;
Reiters Disease: Julius Reiter was a fervent support of the Nazi doctrines and pseudo scientific racial
hygiene theories. He personally conducted horrific and lethal “experiments” on internees of the
Buchenwald concentration camp.
Wegners Granulomatosis: Friedrich Wegener, a dedicated Nazi party member, served as a pathologist in
the Lodz Ghetto, taken part in the ongoing atrocities leading to the “liquidation” of the ghetto.
Leriche's syndrome: René Leriche's served as president of the national French medical society under the
Vichy government in occupied France. He was directly responsible for enacting actions of exclusion,
repression, spoliation and denunciation of Jewish physicians in Vichy France
Summery: In our professional discourse of radiology we must reconsider the context of these eponyms which can
serve as more than just short hand for certain pathologies, but as lessons in the boundaries of our professional
conduct.