NDC uses descriptive terms for anatomic features (instead of the surnames of famous men!)

Men's names for a woman's body parts proliferate throughout the study of anatomy, and this has been true for anatomic names within the mammary gland, too. There is a trend to re-name the anatomy of the female body by function, rather than by men's names, recognising that sociocultural use of language impacts powerfully upon the way women relate to their own bodies.

This is why, when I'm discussing functional anatomy in the field of clinical breastfeeding and lactation support and breastfeeding medicine, I refer to anatomic features functionally, instead of by the names of (famous white!) men.

Here are three examples.

• I use the descriptive term sebaceous glands for the tubercles in the areola, instead of the older term, Montgomery's tubercles.

• I use the descriptive term subareolar lymphatic plexus, which sits between the skin and the superficial fascia, instead of the older term Sappey's plexus.

• I use the descriptive term fibrous connective tissue of the breast, rather than Cooper's ligaments, for the bands of structural connective tissue in the female breast.

You'll find the case for renaming by function in an excellent BBC blog here. I also link to an interesting discussion in the New York Times on the same topic here.