Chest trauma of Alexander the Great, a pneumology approach.

Delgado-García, et al. presentan una disertación amplia, con revisión histórica profunda, de la lesión torácica que sufrió Alejandro Magno por el disparo de una saeta de dos codos de largo (88 cm) en la batalla contra los malios, donde a través de diversas narraciones se ha considerado que sufrió un neumotórax y que debido a la gravedad de la lesión sus médicos decidieron retirar el objeto punzocortante, obteniéndose aire y sangre posextracción; el emperador perdió el estado de alerta, recuperándose posteriormente la herida y permitiéndole montar a caballo a los pocos días. Los autores finalizan con la frase «Lo sucedido después del flechazo torna inverosímil la posibilidad de un neumotórax¼.

[On Alexander's pneumothorax: A critical appraisal]. / El neumotórax de Alejandro Magno: una apreciación crítica.

According to the testimony of Ptolemy, which we know through Arrian, it has been assumed that Alexander the Great suffered a pneumothorax during his campaign against the Malli. In general, this assumption has been interpreted as a historical fact in medical literature. We consulted the same sources and concluded that it is unlikely that Alexander's arrow wound had given him a pneumothorax. In addition, we stressed the extra-historical content of classical sources.

Were pneumothorax and its management known in 15th-century anatolia?

Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard, a student of René Laennec's, first recognized pneumothorax in 1803, and Laennec himself described the full clinical picture of the condition in 1819. Treatment of pneumothorax was not begun as a standard procedure until World War II, but we think that Serefeddin Sabuncuoglu recognized the condition and applied treatment in the 15th century.Sabuncuoglu (1385-1470) was a surgeon who lived in Amasya (in Anatolia). In 1465, he completed Cerrahiyyetül Haniyye (Imperial Surgery), the 1st illustrated surgical textbook in the Turkish-Islamic medical literature. We describe the highlights of the book's recommendations concerning treatment of thoracic trauma, particularly of pneumothorax. We reproduce 2 of the colored miniature illustrations and add our comments regarding the advice of Sabuncuoglu. Most notably, he advocated "mihceme," a cupping therapy, as a simple technique of thoracic aspiration.

Pyothorax-associated lymphoma.

In Japan, EBV positive rate in immunocompetent patients with nodal lymphomas is less than 10% in B-cell and 20-50% in T cell lymphoma. Among extranodal lymphomas, EBV positive rate is higher in pyothorax-associated lymphoma (PAL), nasal NK/T-cell lymphoma, and adrenal lymphoma. PAL is non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that develops from chronic pyothorax resulted from artificial pneumothorax for the treatment of lung tuberculosis or tuberculous pleuritis. This disease was originally described by Dr. Aozasa as a distinctive clinicopathologic entity in 1987, and now listed as the disease entity in the WHO classification of Tumours, Pathology & Genetics, Tumours of the Lung, Pleura, Thymus and Heart (2004).

[The death of Tordenskiold--from a medical point of view]. / Tordenskiolds død--medicinsk set.

The Norwegian/Danish naval hero, Peter Wessel, peerage name Tordenskiold (1690-1720), had a most brilliant career. Enrolled as cadet in 1710, and was appointed admiral in 1718 after many glorious victories during the Great Northern War (1700-21). He died in a rapier duel in Germany. Until now it has been suggested that he bled to death within a couple of minutes, stabbed only once by a rapier. However, present medical knowledge, and descriptions of the clinical picture by several eyewitnesses, suggest that the main cause of death was rather a tension pneumothorax. In 1952, two Danish physicians have succeeded in deciphering a primitive "autopsy" description that had been almost overlooked. They used a special technique and perceived that it was written in a mixture of gothic and latin letters. Tordenskiold has lain since 1819 in a marble sarchophagus in the Danish Naval Church in Copenhagen, but still without the blessing of the Church, because duels were forbidden. Many had imagined that the blessing would be given at the celebration to mark The 300-year anniversary of his birth, held in Copenhagen in 1990 in the presence of her Majesty, Queen Margrethe--but this did not happen.

Tratamiento quirurgico del neumotorax espontaneo: experiencia en el Hospital Santa Clara de Bogota / Surgical treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax: experience in Hospital Santa Clara de Bogota

Se estudiaron 30 casos de neumotorax espontaneo tratados quirurgicamente de un total de 120 casos pertenecientes a la casuistica de los ultimos 7 anos en el Hospital Santa Clara. Dieciocho pacientes eran del sexo masculino y 12 del femenino, siendo la edad promedio de 29 anos. El sintoma clinico mas importante fue el dolor toracico en 27 pacientes (90%). Diecisiete pacientes presentaron neumotorax derecho, 12 izquierdo y 1 bilateral. La radiografia simple del torax se realizo en todos los casos, considerandose como el examen basico para el diagnostico. La toracoscopia se efectuo en 10 pacientes (33.3%), convirtiendose en el metodo para establecer el diagnostico etiologico, de gran ayuda para la indicacion quirurgica temprana. La toracotomia mas la reaccion quirurgica con escarificacion pleural se reconocio como el metodo definitovo de tratamiento en 29 pacientes (96.6%). La indicacion mas importante de cirugia en el presente estudio fue la recurrencia del neumotorax mas la demostracion de la ampolla o bula, en 15 pacientes (50%), la demostracion de la ampolla en 9 (30%), y la recurrencia mas fistula broncopleural en 6 (20%). No hubo mortalidad en la serie