The historical origin of the term “meningioma” and the rise of nationalistic neurosurgery

Abstract

The historical origin of the meningioma nomenclature unravels interesting social and political aspects about the development of neurosurgery in the late 19th century. The meningioma terminology itself was the subject of nationalistic pride and coincided with the advancement in the rise of medicine in Continental Europe as a professional social enterprise. Progress in naming and understanding these types of tumor was most evident in the nations that successively assumed global leadership in medicine and biomedical science throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, that is, France, Germany, and the United States. In this vignette, the authors delineate the uniqueness of the term "meningioma" as it developed within the historical framework of Continental European concepts of tumor genesis, disease states, and neurosurgery as an emerging discipline culminating in Cushing's Meningiomas text. During the intellectual apogee of the French Enlightenment, Antoine Louis published the first known scientific treatise on meningiomas. Like his father, Jean-Baptiste Louis, Antoine Louis was a renowned military surgeon whose accomplishments were honored with an admission to the Académie royale de chirurgie in 1749. His treatise, Sur les tumeurs fongueuses de la duremère, appeared in 1774. Following this era, growing economic depression affecting a frustrated bourgeoisie triggered a tumultuous revolutionary period that destroyed France's Ancien Régime and abolished its university and medical systems. The resulting anarchy was eventually quelled through legislation aiming to satisfy Napoleon's need for qualified military professionals, including physicians and surgeons. These laws laid the foundations for the subsequent flourishing of French medicine throughout the mid-19th century. Subsequent changes to the meningioma nomenclature were authored by intellectual giants of this postrevolutionary period, for example, by the Limogesborn pathologist Jean Cruveilhier known for the term "tumeurs cancéreuses de la duremère," and the work of histopathologists, such as Hermann Lebert, who were influenced by Pasteur's germ theory and by Bernard's experimental medicine. The final development of the meningioma nomenclature corresponded to the rise of American neurosurgery as a formal academic discipline. This historical period of growth is chronicled in Cushing's text Meningiomas, and it set the scientific stage for the modern developments in meningioma research and surgery that are conducted and employed today.

Role and mechanism of autophagy in the occurrence and development of meningothelial meningioma

“…Meningioma is a common clinical intracranial tumor of non-neuroepithelial origin, and its incidence is second only to glioma, accounting for about 30% of primary intracranial tumors [Vernooij et al, 2007]. It is generally believed to originate from the arachnoid cap cells on the arachnoid membrane and arachnoid granules [Barthélemy et al, 2016]. The arachnoid cap cells generally appear as fibroblast-like monolayers or nests of multicellular epithelial cells.…”

“…The arachnoid cap cells generally appear as fibroblast-like monolayers or nests of multicellular epithelial cells. With age, the arachnoid cap cells aggregate to form Human Brain ( 2023) 2(1) Zhang et al (2022) spirals or sand bodies, so from the point of view of histopathology, meningiomas are considered to originate from arachnoid cap cells [Barthélemy et al, 2016;Qu et al, 2019].…”

Comprehensive overview of extracellular vesicle proteomics in meningioma: future strategy

“…Meningioma name has been derived, because of its production from meninges [ 3 ]. Meningioma is considered to be originated from arachnoid cap cells ([ 4 ]. The origin and progression of grade II and grade III meningioma are still unclear.…”

Review of Atypical and Anaplastic Meningiomas: Classification, Molecular Biology, and Management

“…Harvey Cushing, in his 1922 publication, suggested the term meningioma to describe tumors arising from the pachymeningeal coverings of the brain and spinal cord, and he hypothesized these lesions arose from the arachnoid cap cells (1)(2)(3). Meningiomas are the most common primary intracranial tumors with an incidence of 2.3-8.3 in 100,000 (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9).…”