Wine and the brain

Have you heard of the Bötzinger complex? It's a part of the brain in the ventrolateral medulla. There is also a pre-Bötzinger complex which is probably a rather important area for anybody reading this because it is the part of the brain where the respiratory rhythm is generated. Who was Bötzinger? Obviously some great anatomist of old wouldn't you think? But no. Dr Grumble is going to tell you the secret of the origin of the name. He was told this tale by a reputable respiratory physiologist so it is probably true. Apparently there was a workshop held in Germany and a group of the sort of people who know about this part of the brain visited a local hostelry and over a bottle of wine began discussing the exact area of the brain that they believed to be important in breathing control. This area had no name. It was getting awkward referring to a part with no name so they took a look around the table and their eyes alighted on the bottle of the not-so-special wine they just happened to be imbibing. It was Bötzinger Spätherbst. And that is how the Bötzinger complex got its name. An area close by turned out to be the rhythm generator and that became known as the pre-Bötzinger complex. Quite possibly this is of no interest to anybody. But Dr Grumble rather likes the story.