Famous names in cardiology: Myron Prinzmetal (1908–1987)

Just as Louis Pasteur's name is remembered in the process of pasteurisation, and Parkinson's is named after James Parkinson – who, in 1817, described the ‘shaking palsy’ – there are several eponyms used in cardiology. Some examples include the Blalock-Taussig-Thomas Shunt, Kawasaki disease, Eisenmenger syndrome and Tetralogy of Fallot. ‘Eponymous’ is derived from the Greek ‘eponymos’, meaning ‘giving name’. Some clinicians argue that eponyms are no longer appropriate, while others believe that they remain a useful reflection of medical history. This series will present well known cardiac conditions and procedures, and explore the individuals whose names have become inseparable from them, as a result of their outstanding and groundbreaking work.