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Affliction

A summary of the case histories published by Amatus Lusitanus (1511–1568) in his Centuriae1.

Identification Clinical Description Outcome
M, adult ‘Melancholy’, headache (‘sincciput’) Full recovery
M, 27 years Headache, fever, stupor, seizures Death in 48 h
F, child Right temporal fracture with bone depression Full recovery
F, adult Fever, headache, delirium and agitation (‘possession’) post-partum Recovery after 1 month
F, 30 years ‘Mania’ from excessive hair washing and sun exposure Full recovery
F, 11 years Obesity, ‘sanguine’. Acute right hemiparesis Death within 1 month
F, 20 years Menstrual retention, speech difficulties, headache Full recovery
M, 12 years Groaning and bruxism during sleep Full recovery
M, child Cranial horn with encephalic substance inside Death after removal
M, adult Fever and headache after killing a snake Death in 10 days
M, 30 years Vertigo, loss of appetite, gastric pain Full recovery
Newborn, 15 days Soft head tumour Full recovery in 3 days
M, 48 years Extracranial abscess with bone invasion Full recovery
M, 50 years Ischiatic pain, loss of movement in the legs Full recovery in 3 days
F, 8 years Low fever, T10 gibbus spinal deformity, lower left quadrant pain Partial recovery, spinal deformity
M, 25 years Syphilis, right facial paralysis Full recovery after malaria
M, adult Lumbar and sciatic pain Full recovery
M, 6 years Occipital trauma with fracture, vomiting and loss of consciousness Full recovery
Child, 9 years Uncharacterized seizures after leg wound Full recovery in 2 months
F, adult Facial paralysis during pregnancy. Post-partum right hemiparesis and generalized seizures Death within days
M, fifth decade Emprostothonus Not mentioned
M, young Urinary incontinence after spinal trauma Full recovery
M, young Catalepsis Full recovery
F, 18 years Fever, lethargy, confusion (‘catochos’) Full recovery after 20 days
M, 5 years Occipital trauma followed by lethargy and left hemiparesis Full recovery in 1 month
F, 34 years Fever, lethargy – (‘caros’ or ‘subet’) Death in few days
F, adult Fever, lethargy, somnolence Full recovery after 8 days
M, adult Fainting after seeing/smelling roses Recovery
F, adult Post-partum depression Full recovery in 1 month
M, 16 years Sunstroke followed by agitation, ‘mania’ and fever Recovery after 25 days
M, adult Post-purging fever and agitation Full recovery after 1 month
M, adult ‘Melancholy’ Recovery after 2 months
M, adult ‘Mania’ after wound closure Full recovery
F, adult Syphilitic neck tumour with recurrent nerve paralysis Loss of speech
F, 14 years ‘Double tertian' fever followed by lethargy or ‘caros’ Full recovery in 15 days
M, adult Severe head wound from sword fight Full recovery after 50 days
F, under 20 years Fainting after bad news Not described
M, adult Fever, headache and disturbed sleep Full recovery
M, adult Headache, insomnia Full recovery
M, 35 years Intense bilateral orbital pain after traumatic perforation of left eye Full recovery
M, adult Back pain after fall from horse Full recovery
M, 8 years Fall from high window, coma for 2 days Full recovery
M, child Left hemiparesis and seizures Death within hours
M, adult ‘Melancholy’, pre-prandial headache Full recovery
M, adult Headache Not described
M, 9 years Fall from window, multiple head contusions and fractures Death in 3 days
M, 12 years Right temporal head injury, severe headache Recovery after 30 days
M, 20 years Hallucinations Full recovery
M, adult Obsessive love Full recovery
M, 14 years Chronic headache Full recovery
M, adult Fever, headache, thirst, delirium Slow recovery
M, adult Sunstroke Full recovery
M, adult Cranial sword wound Partial recovery, with ‘loss of reason'
F, adult Anxiety, sighing, agitation, loss of appetite Not reported
M, 3 years Prolonged generalized seizures Prolonged post-ictal hemiparesis
M, 70 years ‘Apoplexy’ and sudden coma Immediate death
M, 2 years Seizures, ‘horrendous look and turbid eyes', motor retardation Resolution of seizures?
M, 43 years Fever, severe headache Not reported
M, adult ‘Melancholy’ Full recovery after 22 days
F, 13 years Fever, mental disturbances, ‘alienation’, thirst Recovery after 4 months
M, 35 years ‘Melancholy’ Full recovery after 40 days
M, adult Left ear intense pain followed by facial paralysis Partial recovery
M, 35 years Chronic pulsating headache, insomnia Full recovery after 40 days
M, 4 years Left-handedness Full recovery
M, 8 years Purulent ear infection followed by painful ‘head tumour', fever, local bone invasion Seizures after surgery, death the next day
M, 40 years Facial paralysis, loss of sensation in the face Full recovery in 1 month
F, young Scrofula, followed by spinal gibbus deformity Not mentioned
M, 2 years Occipital tumour, followed by left arm paralysis, strabismus and fever Death in 8 days
F, 18 years ‘Melancholy’, prolonged seizures with loss of feeling and left arm paralysis Full recovery
M, 40 years Right cranial (‘sincciput’) tumour. Headache and fever Full recovery
F, adult Depression during pregnancy Full recovery
M, 75 years Episodic speech disturbance, syncope with fall Full recovery
M, 2 years Fever, paralysis, loss of speech and hearing No change after 50 days
M, 34 years Syphilis, headache, vertigo and deafness Worsening
F, adult Anguish, depression, amenorrhea Full recovery
M, adult Syphilis, followed by dementia and delusions ‘Recovery’ after sham surgery
M, 20 years ‘Melancholy’ Full recovery
M, adult Lumbar and sciatic pain Full recovery
M, 38 years Vertigo, blurred vision, headache, tinnitus, loss of smell, nausea Recovery after 40 days
M, adult Multiple head-wounds and fractures Not mentioned
F, adult Fainting after bad news, ‘melancholy’ Recovery
F, adult Post-partum headache and fever Full recovery
M, adult Post-vomiting headache and dizziness Full recovery
F, 54 years Opistothonus, trismus, intense pain Recovery in a month
M, 30 years Chronic lower limb atrophy and muscle spasms No recovery
M, young Fever, agitation and delirium, followed by torpor Recovery after 20 days
M, adult/M, adult Occipital wound with loss of brain parenchyma/'Sincciputal' wound Loss of memory (‘occiput’) vision (‘sincciput’)
F, 40 years Sadness, overeating, disturbed sleep, ‘melancholy’ Not mentioned
M, 20 years ‘Tertian fever', somnolence, coma (‘subet’), exanthema, throat ulcerations Full recovery
F, adult Dog bite, followed by anguish, thirst, satyriasis, hydrophobia and disturbed behaviour Death after 7 days
F, 27 years Blindness, deafness and amenorrhea after head aggression No recovery
M, adult Bi-temporal headache, constipation, cough, ascites Death
M, adult Back pain from weight-lifting Recovery
5 adults Rabies from cat bite Death
M, 46 years Nail puncture on the foot, followed by opisthotonus and muscle spasms Death after 2 days
M, adult Headache Full recovery
M, adult Vertigo Full recovery after 5 days
M, adult Gibbous dwarfism, ‘melancholy’, severe headache Death
F, 50 years Amenorrhea Not mentioned
  1. Adapted from Paulo Fontoura, “Neurological practice in the Centuriae of Amatus Lusitanus”, in Brain, Vol. 132, No. 2, February 2009, pp. 296–308. [URI