Crohn

Part of speech: noun, proper noun

Definitions

1. Infectious inflammatory bowel disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the digestive tract, often involving the small intestine
2. A condition marked by abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, fatigue, and malnutrition due to immune system dysfunction
3. A gastrointestinal disorder that can affect any part of the digestive system, leading to complications and requiring medical management

Etymology: Crohn's disease is named after Burrill Bernard Crohn, an American gastroenterologist who, with his colleagues, first described the condition in a published paper. They originally called it "regional ileitis," because it typically affects the end of the small intestine, the ileum. The eponym came later, as the disease became known by its describer's name. The name is a plain surname, not a descriptive term. Medicine has many disorders named after the physicians who first identified them, and this is one of the best-known examples. The name records a person rather than a feature of the disease, which is why it tells you nothing about the inflammation itself.