Medical Eponyms and Toponyms in Tropical Africa

Abstract

Eponyms have been adopted in medicine to honour pioneering doctors who perceived previously unrecognised entities in medical science. There is a curious absence of eponyms for indigenous doctors and patients owning it in tropical Africa. A historical explanation might be the bigotry of colonialism and a colour-bar psyche which unreasonably precluded diversity in medical education in the past.

Nevertheless, there are several toponyms with vernacular etymology for African diseases.

The achievements of Zambian medico-political avant-gardists have not been adequately highlighted in the medical literature.