Tag: Disease names

The origins of the word "scurvy" are tied to early linguistic descriptions of its symptoms, primarily the scaly skin and general miserable condition of those afflicted. This is why is it called scurvy, a name that evolved from older Germanic and Norse words to describe the affliction's visible effects.

Over 100 pathological findings have been compared to food items in medical literature, a phenomenon known as food eponymophilia. This practice of using culinary metaphors helps medical students and professionals understand and remember complex disease characteristics by relating them to familiar objects, answering the question: what is pathology named after food?