Abstract

The neuropsychiatrist Arnold Pick (1851–1924) lent his name to a disease, but in his centenary year, it is timely to ask whether this and the many other eponyms that populate neurology are more help than hindrance. Here, I survey some neurological eponyms, propose criteria for judging their helpfulness (and unhelpfulness) and consider their future prospects in our increasingly mechanistic, contemporary neurological practice.