{"id":45789,"date":"2019-09-27T17:16:24","date_gmt":"2019-09-27T16:16:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=45789"},"modified":"2019-10-04T15:17:49","modified_gmt":"2019-10-04T14:17:49","slug":"jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/27\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeffrey Aronson: When I Use a Word . . . Thymoleptic thymopathies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2014\/12\/jeffrey_aronson.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-32935\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2014\/12\/jeffrey_aronson.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"166\" height=\"211\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/20\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thyme-and-thymus\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Last week<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, exploring the origins and ramifications of the words \u201cthyme\u201d, the plant, and \u201cthymus\u201d, the gland, I noted that they probably came from different Greek words.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The name of the plant may come from the Greek word \u03b8\u1fe1\u03bc\u1f79\u03c2, the soul or spirit, also connoting courage, which some have suggested the plant inspired. Alternatively, its distinctive odour may have prompted a connection, as Plato suggested, with the verb \u03b8\u03cd\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd, to burn or perform a sacrifice, a procedure commonly associated with the use of incense, or \u03b8\u1fe1\u03bc\u03b9\u1fb1\u03bc\u03b1, which, as tymyame, is in Wycliffe\u2019s Bible of 1382 (Ezekiel xvi:18).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The name of the gland, however, seems to have come from a different word altogether, \u03b8\u03cd\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2, which meant a warty excrescence, typically anal or genital, to which Greek authors of the 2<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">nd<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> century, Rufus of Ephesus and Galen, likened the gland.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">These diverse origins result in five different uses of the prefix thym- or thymo-: in reference to the plant or its constituents, the gland, sacrifice and incense, something odoriferous, or something to do with the mind. From the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oxford English Dictionary<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">OED<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">) I have distilled about 60 words starting with thym-; in Table 1 (see the end of the article), for clarity, I have divided them according to these different uses. About half relate to the plant and substances derived from it, 35% relate to the gland, and the rest relate to the other three meanings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Only two of these words relate to the mind, thymoleptic and thymopathy. The latter means any disease of the mind, but has also been used to mean a disease of the thymus. Neither of these seems to have been widely used; in both cases the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">OED<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> gives only two examples, both from other dictionaries. However, PubMed contains 17 examples, 13 of them on psychiatric subjects. The earliest dates from 1953 in the title of a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/13050545\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">paper<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in Spanish, \u201cContribucion al estudio de algunos procesos cutaneos como sintomas de una timopatia ansiosa\u201d, translated into English as \u201cStudies on certain cutaneous processes as symptoms of thymopathies\u201d; this seems to refer to diseases of the thymus gland. In contrast, a Portuguese <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/5307537\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">paper<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> from 1969, \u201cTimolepsia com a monocloroimipramina\u201d, translated, perhaps inaccurately, as \u201cThymopathy with monochloroimipramine\u201d, appears to refer to treatment of a psychiatric condition with monochloroimipramine, assuming the accompanying MESH terms are reliable, although it might also refer to an adverse reaction. Other papers refer to \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/4059485\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">anxious thymopathy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201d and \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/4072515\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">thymopathic hypomaniac remission<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201d, and one <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/20931404\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">author<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> distinguishes \u201clogopathies\u201d (&#8220;all forms of schizophrenia, paraphrenias and paranoias\u201d) from \u201cthymopathies\u201d (\u201caffective disorders and the so called \u2018anxiety disorders\u2019\u201d). The most recent example is from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/29206007\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">2017<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. So the word is far from obsolete, although all the examples come from foreign authors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> OED <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">defines \u201cthymoleptic\u201d, literally \u201cmind-seizing\u201d, as \u201c(Of or pertaining to) a psychic energizer\u201d, a rather old-fashioned definition. \u201cPsychic energizer\u201d it defines as \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">a psychostimulant or antidepressant\u201d, the first citation coming from 1957, although I have found an earlier instance, in a 1955 annual report of the Colgate\u2013Palmolive Company, referring to phenelzine, a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI): \u201cCatron, a psychic energizer\u201d. Instances in PubMed refer to various medicines, including other MAOIs (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/13542681\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">iproniazid<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/13711781\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">isocarboxazid<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">), and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/14424158\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">deanol<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (dimethylaminoethanol) and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/5157675\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">sydnocarb<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, both described elsewhere as psychostimulants. The term \u201cpsychic energizers\u201d therefore appears to apply to medicines that we now call psychoactive, a term that was first recorded in 1958, or psychotropic (first recorded in 1956, at the same time as phrenotropic).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-45791\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/09\/aronson_thymol_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"457\" height=\"660\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/09\/aronson_thymol_2.jpg 457w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/09\/aronson_thymol_2-208x300.jpg 208w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 457px) 100vw, 457px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><b>Figure 1.<\/b> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">An advertisement for the first tricyclic antidepressant, imipramine; the text reads \u201cThymoleptic is the word which best describes the unique mood-regulating properties possessed by Tofranil; properties which inaugurate a new category of mental drugs\u201d; typically for the time, the company did not specify what those \u201cunique\u201d properties were<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As Richard Green, Peter Haddad, and I <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/30251594\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">discovered<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> when we surveyed advertisements in <em>The BMJ<\/em> for pharmaceutical products, what has been called the \u201cpsychopharmacology revolution\u201d began in the 1950s, as reflected in these early citations. One of the earliest medicines to be specifically labelled \u201cthymoleptic\u201d was the tricyclic antidepressant imipramine, first discovered in 1951. It was so described in an advertisement in March 1959 (see Figure 1), antedating by 9 months the earliest citation in the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">OED<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Furthermore, a search for the term in Pubmed and other databases yields even earlier hits in other languages, such as German (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/13614559\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thymolepticums<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">) in 1958 and earlier still, in Spanish (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/14928921\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">timolepticos<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">), in 1952. Earlier instances may be waiting to be found.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Jeffrey Aronson<\/strong>\u00a0is a clinical pharmacologist, working in the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine in Oxford&#8217;s Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences. He is also president emeritus of the British Pharmacological Society.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Competing interests:<\/strong> None declared.<\/p>\n<p><b>Table 1.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Words beginning in thym- as listed in the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">OED<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-45790\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/09\/aronson_thymoleptic_thymopathies.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"1939\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/09\/aronson_thymoleptic_thymopathies.png 584w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/09\/aronson_thymoleptic_thymopathies-90x300.png 90w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/09\/aronson_thymoleptic_thymopathies-308x1024.png 308w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week, exploring the origins and ramifications of the words \u201cthyme\u201d, the plant, and \u201cthymus\u201d, the gland, I noted that they probably came from different Greek words. The name of [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/27\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\/\">More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5762],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jeff-aronsons-words"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Jeffrey Aronson: When I Use a Word . . . Thymoleptic thymopathies - The BMJ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/27\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jeffrey Aronson: When I Use a Word . . . Thymoleptic thymopathies - The BMJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last week, exploring the origins and ramifications of the words \u201cthyme\u201d, the plant, and \u201cthymus\u201d, the gland, I noted that they probably came from different Greek words. The name of [...]More...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/27\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The BMJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-27T16:16:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-10-04T14:17:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2017\/02\/Jeffrey-Aronson.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"540\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"BMJ\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@bmj_latest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bmj_latest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"BMJ\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/27\\\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/27\\\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"BMJ\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe\"},\"headline\":\"Jeffrey Aronson: When I Use a Word . . . Thymoleptic thymopathies\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-27T16:16:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-10-04T14:17:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/27\\\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":768,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/27\\\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/Jeffrey-Aronson.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Jeff Aronson's Words\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/27\\\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/27\\\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/27\\\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\\\/\",\"name\":\"Jeffrey Aronson: When I Use a Word . . . Thymoleptic thymopathies - The BMJ\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/27\\\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/27\\\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/Jeffrey-Aronson.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-27T16:16:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-10-04T14:17:49+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/27\\\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/27\\\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/27\\\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/Jeffrey-Aronson.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/Jeffrey-Aronson.jpg\",\"width\":540,\"height\":350},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/27\\\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Jeffrey Aronson: When I Use a Word . . . Thymoleptic thymopathies\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\",\"name\":\"The BMJ\",\"description\":\"Helping doctors make better decisions.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The BMJ\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg\",\"width\":852,\"height\":568,\"caption\":\"The BMJ\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/bmjdotcom\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/bmj_latest\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe\",\"name\":\"BMJ\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"BMJ\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Jeffrey Aronson: When I Use a Word . . . Thymoleptic thymopathies - The BMJ","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/27\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Jeffrey Aronson: When I Use a Word . . . Thymoleptic thymopathies - The BMJ","og_description":"Last week, exploring the origins and ramifications of the words \u201cthyme\u201d, the plant, and \u201cthymus\u201d, the gland, I noted that they probably came from different Greek words. The name of [...]More...","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/27\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\/","og_site_name":"The BMJ","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/","article_published_time":"2019-09-27T16:16:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-10-04T14:17:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":540,"height":350,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2017\/02\/Jeffrey-Aronson.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"BMJ","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@bmj_latest","twitter_site":"@bmj_latest","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"BMJ","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/27\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/27\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\/"},"author":{"name":"BMJ","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/person\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe"},"headline":"Jeffrey Aronson: When I Use a Word . . . Thymoleptic thymopathies","datePublished":"2019-09-27T16:16:24+00:00","dateModified":"2019-10-04T14:17:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/27\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\/"},"wordCount":768,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/27\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2017\/02\/Jeffrey-Aronson.jpg","articleSection":["Jeff Aronson's Words"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/27\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/27\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/27\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\/","name":"Jeffrey Aronson: When I Use a Word . . . Thymoleptic thymopathies - The BMJ","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/27\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/27\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2017\/02\/Jeffrey-Aronson.jpg","datePublished":"2019-09-27T16:16:24+00:00","dateModified":"2019-10-04T14:17:49+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/27\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/27\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/27\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2017\/02\/Jeffrey-Aronson.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2017\/02\/Jeffrey-Aronson.jpg","width":540,"height":350},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/27\/jeffrey-aronson-when-i-use-a-word-thymoleptic-thymopathies\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Jeffrey Aronson: When I Use a Word . . . Thymoleptic thymopathies"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/","name":"The BMJ","description":"Helping doctors make better decisions.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization","name":"The BMJ","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2018\/05\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2018\/05\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg","width":852,"height":568,"caption":"The BMJ"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/","https:\/\/x.com\/bmj_latest"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/person\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe","name":"BMJ","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"BMJ"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45789\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}