Medical Dictionary

Heberden's node

noun Heb·er·den's node \ ˈheb-ər-dənz- \

medical Definition of Heberden's node

: a bony enlargement of the terminal joint of a finger commonly associated with osteoarthritis — compare bouchard's node

Biographical Note for heberden's node

Heberden, William (1710–1801), British physician. Heberden was an outstanding physician and the author of several 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 of nyctalopia 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.