Medical Dictionary
Main Entry:
Heb·er·den's node Pronunciation:
'heb-&r-d&nz- Function:
noun : any of the bony knots at joint margins (as at the terminaljoints of the fingers) commonly associated with osteoarthritis
Heberden, William (1710–1801), British physician. Heberden was an outstanding physician and the author ofseveral medical descriptions that are considered classics. In 1767 he accurately differentiated for the first time chicken pox from smallpox. The following year he presented a classic description ofnyctalopia and a description of angina pectoris. In 1802 a collection of 102 of his papers was published. The work contained his description of the hard arthritic nodules now known as Heberden's nodes.
