What’s the time? – numerical eponyms and brainstem syndromes

: Brainstem syndromes and their eponyms are well known and numerous, but represent only a drop in the ocean of approximately 450 neurological eponyms. Unlike these “human” eponyms dedicated to famous neurologists, “numerical” eponyms that describe various disorders at the anatomical level of the brainstem, are less known and are rarely used in clinical practice. In this short review, we will give an overview of “human” eponyms and present in more detail the “numerical” eponyms related to brainstem syndromes. The availability of sophisticated neuroradiological and other diagnostics methods cannot replace the importance of neurological examination nor diminish the joy of the neurologist when recognizing a set of signs named after an eponym, or to describe a new one. In any case, neurology is a joy and valuable opportunity for lifelong learning, but also for contribution to continuously growing knowledge about the hidden universe in our nervous system.