Bakkum Barclay W
Associate Professor, Department of Basic and Health Sciences, Illinois College of Optometry, Chicago, IL 60616.
J Chiropr Humanit. 2011 Dec;18(1):94-8. doi: 10.1016/j.echu.2011.10.002. Epub 2011 Nov 11.
One of the most commonly used eponymous terms in neuroscience and gross anatomy is Sylvius. The 2 most recognized uses of this term today are the sylvian fissure for the lateral cerebral sulcus and the sylvian aqueduct for the cerebral aqueduct. There is some controversy surrounding these terms because there were 2 famous anatomists named Sylvius after whom these structures could easily have been named. The purpose of this article is to provide a brief historical review of these 2 scientists and offer an observation on the historical use of the name Sylvius as an anatomical term.
Franciscus Sylvius was a popular teacher at the University of Leiden. One of his most famous students, Thomas Bartholinus, published F Sylvius' neuroanatomical work on the lateral cerebral sulcus. Although this structure had been known from antiquity, Bartholinus' description linked F Sylvius' name to the structure. As well, the description of the cerebral aqueduct was also published in other influential anatomy texts as an attempt by students to honor F Sylvius' name, despite the fact that this structure had been described more than a century before. Jacobus Sylvius was a successful but reportedly disliked anatomist at the University of Paris. Although he urged his students to learn from dissection rather than lectures or books, he had an unyielding devotion to Galen's teachings. His most famous student, Vesalius, went on to refute many of Galen's ideas as documented in his later publications. The rift between teacher (J Sylvius) and student (Vesalius) may have resulted in the marginalization of J Sylvius as a figure immortalized in anatomical texts. This may be the probable reason that J Sylvius' name is not associated with anatomical terms.
The lesson from this brief review of the 2 Dr Sylviuses may be that a teacher's historical legacy being preserved as an eponym may have more to do with his or her likability than productivity during his or her lifetime.
“西尔维于斯”（Sylvius）是神经科学和大体解剖学中最常用的以人名命名的术语之一。如今，该术语最广为人知的两种用法是，用“西尔维于斯裂”（sylvian fissure）指代大脑外侧沟，用“西尔维于斯导水管”（sylvian aqueduct）指代中脑导水管。围绕这些术语存在一些争议，因为有两位著名解剖学家都叫西尔维于斯，这些结构很容易以他们的名字命名。本文旨在对这两位科学家进行简要的历史回顾，并对“西尔维于斯”作为解剖学术语的历史用法进行观察。
弗朗西斯库斯·西尔维于斯（Franciscus Sylvius）是莱顿大学一位颇受欢迎的教师。他最著名的学生之一托马斯·巴托林（Thomas Bartholinus）发表了弗朗西斯库斯·西尔维于斯关于大脑外侧沟的神经解剖学著作。尽管这个结构自古以来就为人所知，但巴托林的描述将弗朗西斯库斯·西尔维于斯的名字与该结构联系了起来。同样，中脑导水管的描述也在其他有影响力的解剖学著作中发表，这是学生们试图纪念弗朗西斯库斯·西尔维于斯的名字，尽管这个结构在一个多世纪前就已被描述过。雅各布斯·西尔维于斯（Jacobus Sylvius）是巴黎大学一位成功但据说不受欢迎的解剖学家。尽管他敦促学生通过解剖而不是讲座或书籍来学习，但他对盖伦的教义有着坚定不移的执着。他最著名的学生维萨里（Vesalius）在其后来的出版物中反驳了盖伦的许多观点。老师（雅各布斯·西尔维于斯）和学生（维萨里）之间的裂痕可能导致雅各布斯·西尔维于斯作为一个在解剖学著作中不朽的人物被边缘化。这可能是雅各布斯·西尔维于斯的名字未与解剖学术语相关联的可能原因。
对这两位西尔维于斯博士的简要回顾所带来的教训可能是，一位教师作为以其名字命名的历史遗产，与其生前的受欢迎程度而非产出有关。
