Virchow’s Triad
Other Known Aliases – none
Definition – triad of broad categories of factors that contribute to thrombosis: hypercoaguability, endothelial injury, and stasis of blood flow
Clinical Significance – These factors should always be considered in patients with suspected DVT, PTE, or acute arterial occlusion. Thought broad, they represent a simplistic mindmap to think of differential diagnoses and causes for patients with suspected conditions.
History – Names after Rudolf Ludwig Carl Virchow (1821-1902), who was a German physician and received his medical doctorate from the Friedrich-Wilhelms Institute in 1843. He had an interesting career in that he was a prolific writer (producing more than 2000 scientific manuscript), but also very politically charged and challenged not only the government, but also the status quo of medical education and dogmatism. This fervor allowed him to push the boundaries of what was known and being taught in medical schools and made him a well-known teacher, orator, and leader in the field of pathology. He first published his treatise on thrombosis in 1856 where he described his triad, but the eponym was not attributed to him until the mid-1900s.
References
- Firkin BG and Whitwirth JA. Dictionary of Medical Eponyms. 2nd ed. New York, NY; Parthenon Publishing Group. 1996.
- Bartolucci S, Forbis P. Stedman’s Medical Eponyms. 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD; LWW. 2005.
- Yee AJ, Pfiffner P. (2012). Medical Eponyms (Version 1.4.2) [Mobile Application Software]. Retrieved http://itunes.apple.com.
- Whonamedit – dictionary of medical eponyms. http://www.whonamedit.com
- Up To Date. www.uptodate.com
- Virchow RLC. Gesammelte Abhandlungen zur wissenschaftlichen Medicin. Frankfurt am Main, 1 Meidinger, 1856+
- Bagot CN, Arya R. Virchow and his triad: a question of attribution. British journal of haematology. 2008; 143(2):180-90. [pubmed]
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