François Rabelais and his dystonic giants

Abstract

Spasmodic torticollis was an early designation used for cervical dystonia. The origin of this name is attributed to French physician and writer François Rabelais in the mid-sixteenth century. This early description of torticollis in the book Pantagruel was an inspiration for the understanding of cervical dystonia. The art expressed in Rabelais' literature ‒ which was immortalized by the drawings of Gustave Doré ‒ influenced poetry, art, and photography, and led to the adoption of the term torticollis in the neurological sciences.

Resumo

Uma designação inicial usada para distonia cervical era torcicolo espasmódico. A origem desse termo é atribuída ao médico e escritor francês François Rabelais em meados do século XVI. Essa descrição inicial do torcicolo no livro Pantagruel foi uma inspiração para a compreensão da distonia cervical. A arte exibida na literatura de Rabelais ‒ imortalizada pelos desenhos de Gustave Doré ‒ influenciou a poesia, a arte e a fotografia, e levou à adoção do termo torcicolo nas ciências neurológicas.

Keywords

History of Medicine - Neurology - Movement Disorders - Dystonia - Torticollis

Palavras-chave

História da Medicina - Neurologia - Transtornos dos Movimentos - Distonia - Torcicolo

Editor in Chief

Ayrton Roberto Massaro

Associate Editor

Ethel Cuperschmid.

Authors' Contributions

LC: conceptualization, investigation, data curation, and writing of the original draft. CHFC: investigation, data curation, and writing – review and editing. HAGT: supervision and writing – review and editing.

Publikationsverlauf

Eingereicht: 15. Januar 2024

Angenommen: 25. Februar 2024

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
13. Mai 2024

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