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ABSTRACT: We describe the peculiar facial morphology of a carved head dating to the end of the Roman Republican period (40 BCE) which displays evident unilateral asymmetry. A comprehensive discussion of the different etiologies is provided and a contextualization of this condition in the broader frame of Roman artistic verism is offered. This case study contributes to the knowledge of disease presentation in the ancient world, with a special focus on the anatomy of soft tissue pathology.
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Face , Assimetria Facial , História Antiga , HumanosRESUMO
What is the place of medico-historical cases in the professional practice of the disciplinary field of medicine and biology? How can these patients from the past be used for teaching and continuing medical education? How to justify their place in biomedical publications? In this article, we explain all the legitimacy of paleomedicine, and the need to intensify such research in the form of a well-individualised branch of paleopathology and the history of medicine.
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Educação Médica/métodos , Paleopatologia/educação , HumanosRESUMO
Surprisingly, Catholic hagiography can teach us a lot about medicine. As an example, we present here the history of Saint Roch who is considered, along with Saint Sebastian, one of the two main Saints who act as protectors against plagues and have often been invoked by Catholic people during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas Saint Sebastian is associated with plagues only symbolically, Catholic tradition considers Saint Roch to have had real contact with the bubonic plague. Indeed, during his pilgrimage to Rome, Saint Roch helped people suffering from the plague and was, subsequently, himself infected. He was then forced to retire in solitary confinement to avoid the plague's spread and followed scrupulously the necessary restrictive measures. Saint Roch's story provides useful lessons about the importance of social responsibility by respecting the restrictive rules during difficult times such as the COVID-19 epidemic.
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COVID-19 , Santos , Humanos , Pandemias/prevenção & controle , Distanciamento Físico , SARS-CoV-2RESUMO
A novel betacoronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has spread rapidly across the globe since December 2019. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has a significantly higher mortality rate than seasonal influenza and has disproportionately affected older adults, especially those with cardiovascular disease and related risk factors. Adverse cardiovascular sequelae, such as myocarditis, acute myocardial infarction, and heart failure, have been reported in patients with COVID-19. No established treatment is currently available; however, several therapies, including remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, and interleukin (IL)-6 inhibitors, are being used off-label and evaluated in ongoing clinical trials. Considering these therapies are not familiar to cardiovascular clinicians managing these patients, this review describes the pharmacology of these therapies in the context of their use in patients with cardiovascular-related conditions.
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Doenças Cardiovasculares/tratamento farmacológico , Doenças Cardiovasculares/virologia , Infecções por Coronavirus/tratamento farmacológico , Pneumonia Viral/tratamento farmacológico , Betacoronavirus/isolamento & purificação , COVID-19 , Doenças Cardiovasculares/metabolismo , Ensaios Clínicos Fase III como Assunto , Infecções por Coronavirus/metabolismo , Infecções por Coronavirus/virologia , Interações Medicamentosas , Humanos , Pandemias , Pneumonia Viral/metabolismo , Pneumonia Viral/virologia , Ensaios Clínicos Controlados Aleatórios como Assunto , SARS-CoV-2RESUMO
King of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty and sovereign of the overseas Spanish Empire, Charles II of Spain, was physically disabled, disfigured, mentally retarded, and he proved impotent. He is known in history as El Hechizado (the Bewitched) because both him and the people believed that his mental and physical incapacity were due to a "witchcraft act." Although several authors speculated about different diseases, most of them genetic such as pituitary hormone deficiency, distal renal tubular acidosis, Klinefelter syndrome, fragile X syndrome, or male XX hermaphroditism, the hypothesis of hydrocephalus was not taken into account. We don't have clear elements to hypothesize a certain etiology of Charles II' hydrocephalus; however, we think the herpetic infection he suffered of after his birth should not be ignored.
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Hidrocefalia/história , História do Século XVII , Humanos , Masculino , EspanhaRESUMO
Beginning with the thirteenth century, the papacy has exerted an important role in the development of anatomy and medical sciences through the protection and support provided to anatomists, who were in most cases the personal physicians of the popes as well. The work is intended to be a lesson of anatomy of Papal tiara, presenting the most important contributing popes, the anatomists-physicians whom they supported and protected and the relations between papacy and medical sciences.
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Anatomistas/história , Anatomia/história , Catolicismo , Médicos , História Medieval , HumanosRESUMO
On October 17, 1849, Poland's greatest composer, Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) died aged 39. His cause of death remains unknown. An investigation of the documental sources was performed to reconstruct the medical history of the artist. Since his earliest years, his life had been dominated by poor health. Recurrent episodes of cough, fever, headaches, lymphadenopathy- a series of symptoms that may be attributed to viral respiratory infections- manifested in his teens. Later in life, he had chest pain, hemoptysis, hematemesis, neuralgia, and arthralgia. Exhaustion and breathlessness characterized all his adult life. Coughing, choking, and edema of the legs and ankles manifested four months before his death. Several hypotheses ranging from cystic fibrosis to alpha-1 anti-trypsin deficiency and pulmonary tuberculosis have been proposed to explain Chopin's lifelong illness. We suggest that Chopin had dilated cardiomyopathy with consequent heart failure and cirrhosis that caused his death.
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Cardiomiopatia Dilatada/história , Pessoas Famosas , Insuficiência Cardíaca/história , Música/história , Cardiomiopatia Dilatada/complicações , Causas de Morte , Insuficiência Cardíaca/etiologia , História do Século XIX , Humanos , Masculino , PolôniaRESUMO
PURPOSE: St. John of the Cross (1542-1591) died aged 49 years after 3 months of excruciating pain following a trivial lesion in his right foot. Erysipelas, a superficial bacterial infection of the skin, and subsequent sepsis were previously suggested as the cause of his death. Here, an alternative diagnosis is proposed. METHODS: An accurate perusal of his biography allowed the symptomatology, the clinical evolution, the depth of the infection and the associated systemic manifestations displayed by Fray John to be reconstructed. RESULTS: St. John of the Cross developed cellulitis in the foot, which turned into a cutaneous abscess. To treat the toxaemia and inhibit further necrosis of the skin, excision of necrotic tissue and cauterization of the sores were performed to no avail. The infection burrowed through the fascial planes and reached the bones of the leg, leading to osteomyelitis. CONCLUSIONS: In the absence of antibiotic treatments and proper antiseptic procedures, the soft-tissue infection spread deeper to the bones. It is not unconceivable that the surgery might have further promoted the spread of the bacteria giving rise to the secondary sepsis that led to St. John's premature death.
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Celulite (Flegmão) , Cristianismo/história , Osteomielite , Sepse , Infecções dos Tecidos Moles , Abscesso/complicações , Celulite (Flegmão)/complicações , Celulite (Flegmão)/história , Evolução Fatal , Traumatismos do Pé/complicações , Traumatismos do Pé/história , História do Século XVI , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Infecções dos Tecidos Moles/etiologia , Infecções dos Tecidos Moles/história , EspanhaRESUMO
During the 2011 restoration works in the central nave of the church of the Assumption of Our Lady, known as "The Piquete", in the village of Quinto (about 50 kms southwest of Zaragoza, Spain), the remains of 70 individuals were uncovered. Of these there were 32 mummified bodies, four of which have been investigated with CT scans. Here we report on the findings in one such individual, namely a child of between 7 and 8 years of age, whose sex is debatable but may well be female. The main pathological finding is the presence of pressure erosion and distortion of the upper thoracic spine, the cause of which is discussed with the conclusion that this may well represent a neurenteric duplication cyst. The possible consequences of such a lesion are considered.
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Cistos/diagnóstico por imagem , Doenças do Mediastino/diagnóstico por imagem , Múmias , Vértebras Torácicas/anormalidades , Vértebras Torácicas/diagnóstico por imagem , Criança , Cistos/patologia , História do Século XVIII , História do Século XIX , Humanos , Imageamento Tridimensional , Espanha , Tomografia Computadorizada por Raios XRESUMO
Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), also known as Lobstein's syndrome or Vrolik's syndrome, comprises a heterogeneous group of rare genetic connective tissue disorders. It is characterized by increased bone fragility, low bone mass, and susceptibility to bone fractures of variable severity. Originally named "osteomalacia congenita," the condition was first medically described in a family by Ekman in 1778. Here, we report a 17th century medical account from France, which predates Eckman's doctoral dissertation by about a century. Medical analysis of this anatomical presentation indicates a precise diagnosis of Type I OI. Clin. Anat. 30:128-129, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Osteogênese Imperfeita/história , Adulto , Feminino , França , História do Século XVII , HumanosAssuntos
Arritmias Cardíacas/história , Pessoas Famosas , Ataque Isquêmico Transitório/história , Literatura Moderna/história , Acidente Vascular Cerebral/história , Arritmias Cardíacas/complicações , História do Século XIX , Humanos , Ataque Isquêmico Transitório/etiologia , Recidiva , Acidente Vascular Cerebral/etiologiaRESUMO
A case of an anomaly in the maxillary dental arch on "Delphic Sibyl," a fresco by Michelangelo is reported. An accurate analysis of this fresco shows a single incisor tooth is present precisely in the midline. We hypothesize that it may be a case of solitary median maxillary central incisor (SMMCI) and discuss the differential diagnosis with another similar anomaly--the mesiodens.