Female anatomy has been studied for centuries. However, many of the names given to female anatomy relate to male doctors and anatomists. Many structures have been named after the males that described them. This is known as an eponym, meaning they are named after a person.
It was identified that, out of a list of 700 anatomical structures named after individuals, 432 were distinct personal names. Of these, 424 were male, accounting for 98% of male representation. The 8 non-male physician eponyms included 5 gods, a king, a hero and one woman, a Russian pathologist, Raissa Nitabuch, who got a layer of the placenta named after her. One woman out of a list of 432 eponyms.
This has caused some debate about how female anatomy has been studied and named. Here are 7 examples of female reproductive anatomical structures that have been named after men.
Named after Gabriele Falloppio (1523-1562) an Italian anatomist and doctor who studied human anatomy in the 16th century.
The fallopian tubes are 2 thin tubes that connect the ovary and uterus. They play an important role in reproduction by transporting the egg released during ovulation to the uterus. Fertilisation mostly happens in the fallopian tubes. They are also known as the uterine tubes or oviducts.
Falloppio described these structures in his 1561 publication Observationes Anatomicae. He compared their shape, particularly their fringed ends, to the opening of a brass trumpet. This resemblance inspired the Latin term tuba uteri, meaning uterine trumpet.1
These are named after Caspar Bartholin the Younger (1655-1738), a Danish anatomist who described them in the 17th century.
Bartholin’s glands are two small glands found on either side of the vaginal opening. They produce a fluid that lubricates the area. They are also known as the greater vestibular glands. Despite being small, they play an important role in keeping the vaginal opening lubricated.
These glands are named after Alexander Skene, a Scottish American gynecologist who described them in a publication in 1880.
However, the history of these glands goes back further. Dutch physician and anatomist Reinier de Graaf had described the paraurethral glands in 1672, more than 200 years before Skene's publication. Skene's contribution was to rediscover and provide a detailed anatomical and clinical description of the glands, which subsequently became associated with his name.2
Skene’s glands surround the lower part of the urethra. Sometimes also known as female prostate due to their similarity to the prostate in males; however, they are not exactly the same. Modern anatomy refers to them as paraurethral glands. Other names that are accepted include Skene’s Glands and the female prostate.
The Graafian follicle is named after Reinier de Graaf, a Dutch physician and anatomist who studied the female reproductive system in the 17th century.
Throughout every menstrual cycle changes occurr in the ovary. One of these changes is the development of follicles. Ovarian follicles usually become dominant and mature and are then known as Graafian follicles.
De Graaf made some important observations about these fluid-filled structures in the ovary. He originally thought these were the eggs. However, research has shown that the egg actually forms inside the follicle.
In modern medicine, these follicles are also referred to as mature ovarian follicles and preovulatory follicles.
Named after James Douglas, an 18th century Scottish anatomist and physician.
The Pouch of Douglas (rectouterine pouch) is a small area found in the female pelvis. It sits between the uterus and rectum. This is the lowest part of the peritoneal cavity in women when they are upright.
The rectouterine pouch is also clinically important because fluid, blood or other material can collect in this dependent part of the peritoneal cavity. It is relevant to gynecological examinations and pelvic ultrasound assessments.
Named after Dr. Ernst Gräfenberg, a German gynaecologist and researcher. Dr. Gräfenberg published a paper discussing an erogenous zone on the anterior vaginal wall in 1950. In 1981, researchers Frank Addiego and colleagues introduced the term "Gräfenberg spot" in a case report, honouring his earlier work.
Decades later, in 1981, sexologists came up with the catchy phrase ‘G-spot’ to give Dr. Gräfenberg some well deserved credit, and since then, this has led to an endless debate about whether the G-spot really exists.
This area is actually not a button but part of a network of blood vessels, nerves, tissues and glands that all work together during sexual stimulation. The ‘network’ is often referred to as the clitourethrovaginal (CUV) complex.
The G-spot is often described as a sensitive area on the front wall of the vagina. However, scientists have not confirmed that it exists as a separate anatomical structure. A 2021 review of 31 studies found conflicting evidence about its location and existence. Some researchers suggest that the sensitivity may be linked to nearby structures, including the clitoris, urethra and vaginal wall, which together are referred to as the clitourethrovaginal (CUV) complex.5
Johannes Peter Müller named this structure. He was a German physiologist and anatomist in the 19th Century.
Johannes Peter Müller was a pioneer in embryology and provided a detailed description of how early embryonic structures develop in mammals. All human embryos begin with identical paired structures known as the Müllerian ducts during early fetal development. In female embryos, these ducts fuse and develop into the fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix and fundus, which is the top part of the vagina. In male embryos, a particular hormone causes the Müllerian ducts to regress.
Current international guidelines refer to these as the paramesonephric ducts. The more descriptive term makes it much easier to clearly explain the exact position of the ducts and how they contribute to embryological development.
Also Read: How Plastination Changed Anatomy: The Story of Gunther von Hagens’ Revolutionary Technique
While pursuing her doctoral research in Bern, Switzerland, Raissa Nitabuch published a ground-breaking paper on the human placenta in 1887
She was the first person to correctly describe the anatomy and physiology of the maternal blood supply travelling through the spiral arteries into the intervillous space.
She also noted in the paper that there was a layer of fibrin and degenerative cells between the fetal trophoblasts and maternal decidua, this layer is now known as Nitabuch’s layer (Nitabuch’s membrane). This provides a physiological barrier and determines how far the placenta can invade, it is also the site of separation of the placenta from the uterus once the baby has been delivered.
She is famously known to be the only woman to have her name attached to a macroscopic anatomical structure.
The International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA), through its Federative International Programme for Anatomical Terminology (FIPAT), maintains internationally recognised anatomical terminology. The second edition of Terminologia Anatomica (TA2) was published in 2019 and approved by the IFAA General Assembly in 2020.
Modern anatomical nomenclature increasingly prioritizes standardised descriptive terminology over personal names. Some examples include:
Fallopian tubes: Uterine tubes
Bartholin's glands: Greater vestibular glands
Skene's glands: Paraurethral glands
Graafian follicles: Mature ovarian follicles
Pouch of Douglas: Rectouterine pouch
However, this does not mean that all eponyms have disappeared from medical practice. Many remain widely used in clinical settings and medical education. In TA2, eponyms can be retained as related terms alongside standard anatomical terminology.
A 2024 paper, A Practical Guide to Avoiding Biased Communication in Reproductive Biology, also discusses how language and terminology can reinforce androcentrism, or male-centred bias, in reproductive biology. The guide also discusses the importance of using accurate, neutral and inclusive terminology when communicating scientific information.4,5
References:
1. van Gijn, Jan, and Joost P. Gijselhart. "Falloppius and His Uterine Tubes." Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde 155, no. 51 (2011). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22200142/.
2. University of Iowa Libraries. "Alexander Johnston Chalmers Skene (1837–1900): The Anatomy and Pathology of Two Important Glands of the Female Urethra." Heirs of Hippocrates. https://heirs.lib.uiowa.edu/record.php?id=2009.
3. Vieira-Baptista, Pedro, Joana Lima-Silva, Mario Preti, et al. "G-spot: Fact or Fiction? A Systematic Review." Sexual Medicine 9, no. 5 (2021): 100435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esxm.2021.100435.
4. Federative International Programme for Anatomical Terminology (FIPAT). Terminologia Anatomica. 2nd ed. 2019. https://fipat.library.dal.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/FIPAT-TA2-Front-Matter.pdf.
5. Baker, Zoe, and Virginia Hayssen. "A Practical Guide to Avoiding Biased Communication in Reproductive Biology." Integrative and Comparative Biology 64, no. 6 (2024): 1717–1733. https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icae138.