Hippocrates and the anatomy of the nervous system (Historical Note) / Hipócrates e a anatomia do sistema nervoso (Nota Hidtórica)

Hippocrates was one of the greatest physicians ever, and merited unquestionably, the title of 'Father of Medicine'. He, together with other authors, formed an assemble of texts known as 'Hippocratic Collection' (or 'Hippocratic Corpus'). There, the ample and brilliant medical experience remained documented, and left as a legacy. Even after almost two and a half millennia, these medical writings continue to be admired, and regarded as a lasting fount of inspiration. However, regarding anatomy, including that of the nervous system, and related structures, the texts are poor. About the nervous system, he mentioned the brain and its two hemispheres, the spinal cord, and the sensory organs. The related structures are also cited, comprising the meninges, the cerebrospinal fluid, and the blood vessels, as well as the skull, and the vertebral column. The functions of the brain were partly explained, and he ascribed to the brain the main ruling function of the body, a mark of encephalocentric position. Thus, counterposed to his ample medical accomplishments was his poor anatomical contribution. However, it must be recognized that the incipient contribution on anatomy that was legated, represented an important starting point for upcoming scholars and further studies on the subject.

Hipócrates foi um dos maiores médicos de todos os tempos, merecendo, de modo inquestionável, o título de 'Pai da Medicina'. Ele, juntamente com outros autores, constituiu um conjunto de textos conhecido como 'Coleção Hipocrática' (ou 'Corpo Hipocrático'). Lá, a ampla e brilhante experiência médica permaneceu documentada e deixada como um legado. Mesmo após quase dois e meio milênios, estes escritos médicos continuam a ser admirados e vistos como uma fonte duradoura de inspiração. Entretanto, considerando a anatomia, os textos são pobres, inclusive os sobre o sistema nervoso e estruturas relacionadas. Quanto ao sistema nervosa, ele mencionou o cérebro e seus dois hemisférios, a medula, e os órgãos sensoriais. As estruturas relacionadas também são mencionadas, compreendendo as meninges, o líquido cefalorraquidiano, e os vasos sanguíneos, assim como o crânio e a coluna vertebral. As funções cerebrais foram explicadas em parte e ele atribuiu ao cérebro a principal função de controle do corpo, uma marca de sua posição encefalocêntrica. Assim, contraposto às suas amplas realizações médicas foi sua contribuição anatômica pobre. Entretanto, deve ser reconhecido que a contribuição incipiente sobre anatomia que foi legada representou um ponto de partida importante para os estudiosos porvindouros e os estudos que prosseguiram sobre o assunto.

Clinical records: the medical writing from the patient's story to the medical narrative.

A historical follow-up on the medical diaries about the patient is made, from the Hippocratic texts to the appearance of the current canon of the clinical history formulated by Boerhaave in the seventeenth century, through the medieval consilia and the curationes and observationes of the Renaissance; and it is discussed how much the patient's story is present in those writings. It is postulated that the medical narrative that starts from adequately listening to the patient and his story, and adopts a literary workshop format, it is a pedagogical tool that contributes to comprehensive medical training, and offers the patient the opportunity to be treated in an empathic and humanized environment.

Se hace un seguimiento histórico a los escritos médicos sobre el paciente, desde los textos hipocráticos hasta la aparición del canon actual de historia clínica formulado por Boerhaave en el siglo XVII, pasando por los consilia medievales y las curationes y observationes del renacimiento; y se discute qué tanto el relato del paciente está presente en esos escritos. Se postula que la narrativa médica que parte de escuchar adecuadamente al paciente y su historia, y se trabaja en formato de taller literario, es una herramienta pedagógica que contribuye a la formación médica integral y ofrece la posibilidad de que el paciente pueda ser tratado en un medio empático y humanizado.

William Shakespeare y la medicina / William Shakespeare and medicine

Si repensamos a escritores que se ocuparon de la medicina, el presente trabajo pretende destacar a William Shakespeare, como un escritor que prácticamente en toda su obra describe en sus personajes problemas de salud de todo tipo. Se harán ciertas referencias de los aspectos médicos desarrollados en la obra del escritor, advirtiendo que son sólo una parte de su extensa producción. (AU)

If we rethink writers who dealt with medicine, this paper intends to highlight William Shakespeare, as a writer who practically describes all kinds of health problems in his characters. Certain references will be made of the medical aspects developed in the writer's work, warning that they are only part of his extensive production. (AU)

Clinical records: the medical writing from the patient's story to the medical narrative / Historia clínica: la escritura médica del relato del paciente a la narrativa médica

Abstract A historical follow-up on the medical diaries about the patient is made, from the Hippocratic texts to the appearance of the current canon of the clinical history formulated by Boerhaave in the seventeenth century, through the medieval consilia and the curationes and observationes of the Renaissance; and it is discussed how much the patient's story is present in those writings. It is postulated that the medical narrative that starts from adequately listening to the patient and his story, and adopts a literary workshop format, it is a pedagogical tool that contributes to comprehensive medical training, and offers the patient the opportunity to be treated in an empathic and humanized environment.

Resumen Se hace un seguimiento histórico a los escritos médicos sobre el paciente, desde los textos hipocráticos hasta la aparición del canon actual de historia clínica formulado por Boerhaave en el siglo XVII, pasando por los consilia medievales y las curationes y observationes del renacimiento; y se discute qué tanto el relato del paciente está presente en esos escritos. Se postula que la narrativa médica que parte de escuchar adecuadamente al paciente y su historia, y se trabaja en formato de taller literario, es una herramienta pedagógica que contribuye a la formación médica integral y ofrece la posibilidad de que el paciente pueda ser tratado en un medio empático y humanizado.

What is in a word? Neuron: Early usage and evolution in antiquity to its long-lasting current significance.

Neuron, a Greek term with a rustic background, made much of its way to its current significance since antiquity, when full recognition was achieved that sensory and motor signals travel through the animal body along nerves (neura, plural). Drawing from classic and recent historical scholarship, this study identifies the successive steps toward such a major breakthrough, starting from the usage of the expression in archaic times and continuing up to the much later transference of a mature theory into the modern world. It is shown that four main consecutive stages may be distinguished in the process: (a) incorporation of the word into early anatomical terminology; (b) theorizing on material composition, origin, properties, and role of the neura in animal bodies; (c) functional association of the neura with a transmitting vehicle; (d) identification of true anatomical and physiological correspondences. Upon this over 2000-year-old foundation is still being built one of the most relevant and fascinating scientific adventures of all time.

Ética, Bioética y método clínico en el tratamiento de pacientes pediátricos aquejados de migraña / Ethics, Bioethics and clinical method in the treatment of pediatric patients suffering from migraine

La migraña es una de las enfermedades que ha acompañado al hombre a lo largo de la vida. Con el objetivo de argumentar, mediante la recopilación de resultados de estudios clínicos de evidencias, la relación existente entre la ética médica y el método clínico en el tratamiento de migrañas en pacientes pediátricos, se realizó revisión de bibliografías sobre migraña, y algunos aspectos del cumplimiento de la ética médica y el método clínico, los que fueron considerados en el desarrollo de las consultas e interconsultas de Neurología del Hospital Pediátrico Universitario William Soler , incluyendo las consultas de Proyección Comunitaria del municipio de Boyeros, en La Habana, en los últimos 10 años. Se accedió a las bases de datos PubMed, Lilacs, Scielo y Google, se restringió la búsqueda por temática y para los últimos 10 años, así como estudios de evidencia, cuyas bases de datos se obtuvieron de las consultas y los resultados fueron publicados en revistas. Se exponen trabajos de evidencia relacionados con el tratamiento de la migraña, en los cuales se aprecia la comunión existente entre la Ética y el método clínico. Las evidencias demostradas en las publicaciones de la autora principal de este estudio sobre el tratamiento de la migraña en Pediatría, demuestran que se puede cumplir con la ética médica y el método clínico, apuntes de Hipócrates antes de nuestra era(AU)

Migraine is a disease that has accompanied man throughout the life. With the objective of substantiating through the collection of results from clinical studies of evidence the relationship between the medical ethics and the clinical method in the treatment of migraine in pediatric patients, a literature review on migraine and on some aspects of the compliance with the medical ethics and the clinical method was made. These aspects had been considered in the medical consultation and interconsultation service of neurology in William Soler university pediatric hospital including the consultation service of the Community Project in Boyeros municipality in Havana in the last ten years. PubMed, Lilacs, Scielo and Goggle databases were accessed; search by topic and restricted to the last ten years was made as well as evidence-based studies whose databases were created from consultations, and the results were published in journals. Evidence papers related to the treatment of migraine were presented, in which the communion between ethics and the clinical method was reflected. The evidence shown in the publications of the main author of this study on the treatment of migraine in pediatrics prove that the medical ethics and the clinical method should be complied with, as Hippocrates said before the CE(AU)

Ética, bioética y método clínico en el tratamiento de pacientes pediátricos aquejados de migraña / Ethics, bioethics and clinical method in the treatment of pediatric patients suffering from migraine

La migraña es una de las enfermedades que ha acompañado al hombre a lo largo de la vida. Con el objetivo de argumentar, mediante la recopilación de resultados de estudios clínicos de evidencias, la relación existente entre la ética médica y el método clínico en el tratamiento de migrañas en pacientes pediátricos, se realizó revisión de bibliografías sobre migraña, y algunos aspectos del cumplimiento de la ética médica y el método clínico, los que fueron considerados en el desarrollo de las consultas e interconsultas de Neurología del Hospital Pediátrico Universitario “William Soler”, incluyendo las consultas de Proyección Comunitaria del municipio de Boyeros, en La Habana, en los últimos 10 años. Se accedió a las bases de datos PubMed, Lilacs, Scielo y Google, se restringió la búsqueda por temática y para los últimos 10 años, así como estudios de evidencia, cuyas bases de datos se obtuvieron de las consultas y los resultados fueron publicados en revistas. Se exponen trabajos de evidencia relacionados con el tratamiento de la migraña, en los cuales se aprecia la comunión existente entre la Ética y el método clínico. Las evidencias demostradas en las publicaciones de la autora principal de este estudio sobre el tratamiento de la migraña en Pediatría, demuestran que se puede cumplir con la ética médica y el método clínico, apuntes de Hipócrates antes de nuestra era.

Migraine is a disease that has accompanied man throughout the life. With the objective of substantiating through the collection of results from clinical studies of evidence the relationship between the medical ethics and the clinical method in the treatment of migraine in pediatric patients, a literature review on migraine and on some aspects of the compliance with the medical ethics and the clinical method was made. These aspects had been considered in the medical consultation and interconsultation service of neurology in “William Soler” university pediatric hospital including the consultation service of the Community Project in Boyeros municipality in Havana in the last ten years. PubMed, Lilacs, Scielo and Goggle databases were accessed; search by topic and restricted to the last ten years was made as well as evidence-based studies whose databases were created from consultations, and the results were published in journals. Evidence papers related to the treatment of migraine were presented, in which the communion between ethics and the clinical method was reflected. The evidence shown in the publications of the main author of this study on the treatment of migraine in pediatrics prove that the medical ethics and the clinical method should be complied with, as Hippocrates said before the CE.

Pneuma-fire interactions in Hippocratic physiology.

Hippocratic treatises written in the late fifth and early fourth centuries BCE contain some of the earliest conjectures known concerning the physiological roles of the pneuma, or "breath," that was supposed to be involved in various functions within human and animal bodies. A cross-referenced survey of these texts suggests that the contemporary theories on the subject may have gone far beyond the well-known attribution of epilepsy and other diseases to disorders in the flow of pneuma within the vessels. A pattern of co-dependent interplay between air-pneuma and fire-heat is evident among the different sources, despite disagreements of the authors on general outlook and other matters. The mutual engagement of those two elements, in turn, is found woven into elaborate mechanisms to explain, with a cause-to-effect approach, vital processes such as the regulation of body temperature through respiration, embryonic growth through morphogenetic differentiation, and even plant germination. Viewed in a historical context, these features suggest that Hippocratic speculation about pneuma may be representative of a conceptual bridging step, i.e., a stage intermediate between some seminal precedents of Presocratic thought and the more mature Aristotelian and Hellenistic theories.

Peregrinaciones a las fuentes de la medicina clásica / A journey to the foundations of classical medicine

The author narrates his trips, between 1951 and 2006, to the main historical sites of antique medicine, where physicians of pre-Columbian cultures of Mexico and Peru, Egypt, Greco Latin culture and Islamic civilizations, lived. The trip ends with a visit to medieval European medicine before Renaissance. A description of the main historical sites and the features of these medical and sanitary cultures is made. In antique civilizations, diseases were considered a punishment of pagan deities. Supernatural and magical influences were decisive in medical practice. The Greco Latin culture of Galen and Hippocrates freed manhood from these causes of diseases and gave a rational basis to the practice of medicine. The Islamic civilization allowed the transmission of Greco Latin culture to medieval Europe. This permitted the renaissance of European creativity and the foundation of modern scientific medicine in the sixteenth century. The author highlights the main virtues of classical Greco Latin medicine, that are the foundations of humanistic thoughts that will restrin the technological revolution of modern medicine.

Lessons from History: Human Anatomy, from the Origin to the Renaissance / Lecciones de Historia: Anatomía Humana, desde el Origen hasta el Renacimiento

The well-known fact that history writers always seem wiser than the subjects on whom they write is the most logical inherent proof that history is rich in lessons. The history of Anatomy is not an exception. It is full of imperative lessons in the Art and Science of the discipline of Anatomy, which following generations ought to learn. We present a defined brief survey with this in mind.

El hecho bien conocido que los historiadores siempre parecen ser más sensatos que los sujetos sobre quienes escriben, es la más lógica prueba que la historia es rica en lecciones. La historia de la Anatomía no es la excepción. Ella está llena de lecciones imperativas en el arte y ciencia, de la cual generaciones venideras deberían aprender. Presentamos un breve reconocimiento sobre lecciones de la Historia de la Anatomía.