Meaning & use
Raynaud
Last updated
Meaning
proper nounpropermedical
The French doctor Maurice Raynaud, whose name is used in the medical terms Raynaud's disease and Raynaud's phenomenon.
Grammar: A surname; it almost always appears in the possessive form Raynaud's before disease or phenomenon.
Patterns
- Raynaud's disease
- Raynaud's phenomenon
The condition is named after Raynaud, a French physician who described it in the 1860s.
In medical writing you will usually see the possessive form, as in Raynaud's phenomenon.
Common combinations
- Raynaud's disease
- Raynaud's disease is diagnosed when the cause cannot be found.
- Raynaud's phenomenon
- Raynaud's phenomenon can occur together with other illnesses.
- Raynaud's syndrome
- Some doctors prefer the term Raynaud's syndrome for the same symptoms.
- named after Raynaud
- The disorder was named after Raynaud, who first described it.
Word family
- Raynaud's proper noun
- Possessive form used before disease, phenomenon or syndrome.
Commonly confused: Raynaud or Renaud?
Raynaud vs Renaud
A French surname pronounced differently; it is unrelated to the medical condition.
Practice
Which spelling is standard before the word 'phenomenon' in medical English?
Choose one answer.
Medical English uses the possessive apostrophe-s: Raynaud's phenomenon. 'Raynauds' without an apostrophe is a common misspelling, and 'Raynaud phenomenon' drops the possessive that is standard here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Raynaud”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.