American Society for Peripheral Nerve

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Clarification of Eponymous Anatomical Terminology Named After Dr. Geoffrey V. Osborne for Structures Compression the Ulnar Nerve at the Elbow
Arvin Raj Wali, BA1; Brandon Gabel, MD1; Shane Tubbs, PhD2; Justin Brown, MD1
1University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 2Seattle Science Foundation, Seattle, WA

Introduction: In 1957, Dr. Geoffrey V. Osborne described a fascial band between the two heads of the flexor carpi ulnaris that might compress the ulnar nerve. Since his original papers on this topic, three eponymous names have emerged: Osborne’s band, Osborne’s ligament, and Osborne’s fascia. As anatomical language has moved away from using eponymous terminology for descriptive, consistent scientific nomenclature, this anatomical literature review seeks to clarify the definitions of these three terms and to equate them to standardized terminology.
Materials and Methods: To identify relevant literature, an online search via Google Scholar and the PubMed medical databases was conducted to identify key anatomical and surgical sources that describe these three structures. We searched the following terms separately and in combination “Osborne’s band, Osborne’s ligament, and Osborne’s fascia.” Papers were excluded from Google Scholar if they were written prior to 2010 with fewer than 15 citations. A total of 36 papers were included from 1957 to 2015.
Results: Our review of the online literature demonstrated a lack of consistency among the definitions for Osborne’s band, Osborne’s ligament, and Osborne’s fascia. Each of these three terms was found to inconsistently describe a potential etiology for ulnar neuritis referring either to the aponeurosis between the two heads of the flexor carpi ulnaris muscle as described by Osborne or to the anatomically distinct fibrous tissue between the olecranon process of the ulna and the medial epicondyle of the humerus.
Conclusions: The use of Osborne’s name to describe structures around the elbow related to ulnar nerve compression remains common. Although eponymous terms provide a rich history to surgical anatomy, these nonspecific descriptions lead to clear inconsistencies and the potential for misdirected treatments. This review demonstrates that Osborne’s band, ligament, and fascia are not used consistently across the literature.


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