Work

Medical antinomy: when the name belies the disease

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This article explores a pervasive challenge in medical education and clinical reasoning that are “antinomic” medical terms, a nomenclature where the literal meaning or surface logic directly contradicts the true pathophysiology or clinical behavior. These paradoxical entities, such as the pro-thrombotic “lupus anticoagulant”, the histologically misleading “connective tissue diseases” or “lupus pernio”, or the obstructive “paradoxical diarrhea” serve as significant pedagogical stumbling blocks. We discuss several such examples and offer concrete suggestions to critically teach and potentially rename these terms, arguing that the persistence of misleading terminology contributes to unnecessary cognitive overload in an era of exponentially expanding medical knowledge, and information that is difficult for patients to understand. We advocate for a pedagogical shift away from the rote memorization of archaic labels toward a deeper understanding of underlying mechanisms. Furthermore, we propose specific improvements to current nomenclature and call for a global, cross-disciplinary effort to simplify medical language, fostering clinical competence rather than mere encyclopedic knowledge.

Source: BMC Medicine

DOI: 10.1186/s12916-026-05220-0

Authors: Etienne Rivière, Amandine Mathé, Pauline Rivière, Guillaume Bonnet, Chloé James, Alexandre Guy