A Look at the History of the Brain Ventricles from the Perspective of Eponyms and Medical Education: Scoping Review

Abstract: The cerebral ventricles are fluid-filled cavities within the cerebral hemispheres and contain cerebrospinal fluid. Historically, the structure and presumed functions of the cerebral ventricles were often associated with the soul, intellect, memory, or mind. A comprehensive understanding of their true anatomy and functions emerged only through the application of scientific methods, including dissection, experimental research, and the correlation of structure with function. Many eponyms are reused to describe the anatomy of the cerebral ventricles. The aim of this study is to examine the historical development of the conceptualization of the ventricles and their interconnections, to elucidate their functions, and to investigate the origins of the eponyms commonly used in their anatomical description. The study was conducted as a scoping review in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched. Data extraction and quality assessment were performed according to pre-established guidelines. The anatomical description of the cerebral ventricles can be traced back to Herophilus, Erasistratus, and Hippocrates and was further advanced by Galen (129–200). In the modern era, anatomical insight into the ventricles was refined through experimental research. Pioneering scholars such as Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564), Franciscus de la Boe Sylvius (1614–1672), Alexander Monro (1733–1817), Domenico Cotugno (1736–1822), François Magendie (1783–1855), and Hubert von Luschka (1820–1875) made significant contributions to the field. An understanding of the historical emergence of eponymous terms and the processes by which anatomical structures were discovered is of considerable value in medical education.