Abstract
In the beginning of the 19th century, apoplexy was understood to be a disease of the cerebral blood vessels, manifesting with a sudden weakening or extinction of sensation and the patient's inability to move. In this study, we examined the situation of neurology in the beginning of the 19th century in Vilnius through the perspective of a nervous system disease - apoplexy. Case reports and descriptions of apoplexy in the textbook and memoirs by Joseph Frank (1771-1842), descriptions of patients with apoplexy from the proceedings of Vilnius University Clinic were analysed. It was identified that the main cause of apoplexy was not an imbalance of the four humours but the pathology of cerebral blood vessels. However, following ancient tradition, the principles of recreation and moderation were thought to be important for the prevention of apoplexy, and bloodletting and diet were believed to be essential for the treatment.
References
1.
Bumblauskas A, Butkeviciene B, Jegelevicius S, Manusadžianas P, Pšibilskis V, Raila E, et al: Universitas Vilnensis 1579-2004. Vilnius, Spauda, 2004.
2.
Andriušis A, Rimševičienė A: The beginnings of institutionalized medical sciences at Vilnius University: from Vilnius Medical School to Collegium Medicum (1775-1781); in Andriušis A (ed): Vilniaus Medicinos Istorijos Almanachas. Vilnius, Medicina Vilnensis, 2006, pp 17-25.
3.
Kondratas RA: Joseph Frank (1771-1842) and the Development of Clinical Medicine. A Study of the Transformation of Medical Thought and Practice at the End of the Eighteenth and the Beginning of the Nineteenth Centuries. Harvard University, 1977.
4.
Frank J: Mémoires Biographiques de Jean-Pierre Frank et de Joseph Frank son fils. Leipzic, 1848.
5.
Storey CE, Pols H: A history of cerebrovascular disease. Handb Clin Neurol 2010;95:401-415.
6.
Schutta HS: Morgagni on apoplexy in De Sedibus: a historical perspective. J Hist Neurosci 2009;18:1-24.
7.
Cooke J: A treatise on Nervous Diseases. Boston, Wells and Lilly, 1824.
8.
Frank J: Praxeos Medicae Universae Praecepta. Partis Secundae Volumen Primum, Sectio Prima. Lipsiae, Sumptibus Bibliopolii Kuehniani, 1818.
9.
Frank J: Acta Instituti Clinici Caesareae Universitatis Vilnensis. Annus Primus. Lipsiae, Impensis Bibliopolii Schaeferiani, 1808.
10.
Prašmantaitė A: Jozefas Frankas ir jo “Atsiminimai”; in Frankas J: Vilnius XIX amžiuje. Atsiminimai. Pirma Knyga. Vilnius, Mintis, 2013, pp 5-19.
11.
Frank J: Pamiętniki d-ra Józefa Franka Profesora Uniwersytetu Wileńskiego. Wilno, Druk Józefa Zawdzkiego, 1913.
12.
Frankas J: Atsiminimai apie Vilnių. Vilnius, Mintis, 2001.
13.
Frank G: Memorie I. Milano, Cisalpino-Istituto Editoriale Universitario, 2006.
14.
Sakalauskait-Juodeikienė E, Jatužis D: Nervous system disorders and mental diseases presented in “Memoirs” by Joseph Frank. Neurologijos seminarai 2015;66:296-307.
15.
Karenberg A: Cerebral localization in the eighteenth century - an overview. J Hist Neurosci 2009;18:248-253.
16.
Clarac F, Boller F: History of neurology in France. Handb Clin Neurol 2010;95:629-656.
17.
Finger S: The birth of localization theory. Handb Clin Neurol 2010;95:117-128.
18.
Frank JP: Biography of Dr. Johann Peter Frank, Imperial and Royal Court Councillor, Hospital Director and Professor of Practical Medicine at the University in Vienna, Member of various learned Societies. Trans. from the German by G. Rosen. J Hist Med Allied Sci 1948;3:11-46.
19.
Poirier J, Derouesné C: La neurologie à l'assistance publique et en particulier à la Salpêtrière avant Charcot. Rev Neurol (Paris) 2000;156:607-615.
20.
Karenberg A, Moog FP: Next emperor, please! No end to retrospective diagnostics. J Hist Neurosci 2004;13:143-149.
21.
Rosenberg CE: The therapeutic revolution: medicine, meaning and social change in nineteenth-century America. Perspect Biol Med 1977;20:485-507.
© 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel
2017
Copyright / Drug Dosage / Disclaimer
Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated into other languages, reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, microcopying, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Drug Dosage: The authors and the publisher have exerted every effort to ensure that drug selection and dosage set forth in this text are in accord with current recommendations and practice at the time of publication. However, in view of ongoing research, changes in government regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to drug therapy and drug reactions, the reader is urged to check the package insert for each drug for any changes in indications and dosage and for added warnings and precautions. This is particularly important when the recommended agent is a new and/or infrequently employed drug.
Disclaimer: The statements, opinions and data contained in this publication are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publishers and the editor(s). The appearance of advertisements or/and product references in the publication is not a warranty, endorsement, or approval of the products or services advertised or of their effectiveness, quality or safety. The publisher and the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content or advertisements.
You do not currently have access to this content.
