Evidence of trepanations in a medieval population (13th-14th century) of northern Spain (Gormaz, Soria)

López, Belén; Caro, Luis; Pardiñas, Antonio F.

doi:10.1537/ase.100913

Cited by 17 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…63,239 This practice persisted into the Medieval and possibly the Renaissance periods. 168 In the 19th century, the notion of functional localization in neuroanatomy was advanced by Franz Gall with the advent of phrenology. While ultimately discredited, this work formed the basis of the notion that discrete anatomical areas of the brain were responsible for various neurological functions.…”

Section: A Brief History Of Psychosurgerymentioning

confidence: 99%

Deep brain stimulation for psychiatric disorders: where we are now

Cleary

Ozpinar

Raslan

et al. 2015

FOC

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Fossil records showing trephination in the Stone Age provide evidence that humans have sought to influence the mind through physical means since before the historical record. Attempts to treat psychiatric disease via neurosurgical means in the 20th century provided some intriguing initial results. However, the indiscriminate application of these treatments, lack of rigorous evaluation of the results, and the side effects of ablative, irreversible procedures resulted in a backlash against brain surgery for psychiatric disorders that continues to this day. With the advent of psychotropic medications, interest in invasive procedures for organic brain disease waned. Diagnosis and classification of psychiatric diseases has improved, due to a better understanding of psychiatric patho-physiology and the development of disease and treatment biomarkers. Meanwhile, a significant percentage of patients remain refractory to multiple modes of treatment, and psychiatric disease remains the number one cause of disability in the world. These data, along with the safe and efficacious application of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for movement disorders, in principle a reversible process, is rekindling interest in the surgical treatment of psychiatric disorders with stimulation of deep brain sites involved in emotional and behavioral circuitry. This review presents a brief history of psychosurgery and summarizes the development of DBS for psychiatric disease, reviewing the available evidence for the current application of DBS for disorders of the mind.

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Section: A Brief History Of Psychosurgerymentioning

confidence: 99%

Deep brain stimulation for psychiatric disorders: where we are now

Cleary

Ozpinar

Raslan

et al. 2015

FOC

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“…The trepanned skull found in burial 2 m gives evidence that the scraping method was used in early times in Siberia. However, other methods, such as grooving, carving or the push-plough technique, cannot be completely excluded (Erdal & Erdal, 2011;López et al, 2011;Molnár et al, 2010).…”

Section: Methods Of Trepanationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ante Mortem Cranial Trepanation in the Late Bronze Age in Western Siberia

Slepchenko

Vybornov

Slavinsky

et al. 2016

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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We report a case study of cranial trepanation in a male subject 30 to 40 years of age from the Nefteprovod II burial ground in the Anzhevsk archeological site. This burial dates back to the Late Bronze Age, in particular the Karasuk culture located in the Minusinsk Basin on the Yenisei River and on the upper reaches of the Ob River. The left parietal bone had an opening with evident signs of bone healing, as well as signs of inflammatory reaction from both bone plates of the calvarium. The strongest signs of inflammation were located around the trepanation opening at the exocranium, suggesting that it occurred after, rather than before, the operation. Although trepanation was the main cause for the development of the changes noted in the preceding texts, there are no reasons to believe that the subject died from complications arising from infection after trepanation. The patient survived and later died for reasons that may never be determined. Medical necessity was the most likely justification for trepanation. Immersion in altered states of consciousness may also have been a necessary part of the trepanation process as a mode of sedation, along with other shamanic practices, such as consumption of psychotropic substances or ecstatic dance. These data, together with reports of other ante mortem burials, raised questions about the application of anaesthesia and possible techniques of cranial trepanation. These issues and possible postoperative complications are discussed in the following text. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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“…Trephination is the artificial removal of a bone piece of the cranial vault carried out in different ways and for different purposes [ 33 ]. Various methods were used as a surgical therapy for treatment of health problems, cranial fractures and wounds, intracranial disorders, chronic headache, brain tumors and other painful disorders [ 22 – 23 , 34 ]. Paleopathological studies and historical sources show association of trephination with head injuries [ 2 , 22 , 35 – 36 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Medical Skull Surgery for Treatment of Post-Traumatic Osteomyelitis 5,000 Years Ago

et al. 2015

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Here we describe the findings of a unique example of the early techniques adopted in neurosurgery around 5000 years ago, consisting in a double well healed skull trephination associated with a post-cranial traumatic event occurring intra vitam to a young male from the Early Chalcolithic cemetery of Pontecagnano (South Italy, ca. 4,900 - 4,500 cal BP). Morphological, X-ray and 3D-CT scan skull-cap evaluation revealed that the main orifice was produced by scraping, obtained by clockwise rotary motion of a right-handed surgeon facing the patient, while the partial trephination was carried out by using a stone point as a drilling tool. In both cases, bone regrowth is indicative of the individual's prolonged postoperative survival and his near-complete recovery. The right femur shows a poorly healed mid-shaft fracture presumably induced by a high energy injury, and a resulting chronic osteomyelitis, affecting both femurs by hematogenous spread of the infection. Our observations on the visual and radiological features of skull and femur lesions, along with evidence on the timing of experimental bone regrowth vs. healing of lower limb fractures associated to long-term bone infections now suggest that this young man underwent a double skull trephination in order to alleviate his extremely painful condition induced by chronic osteomyelitis, which is thought to have been the cause of death.

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Evidence of trepanations in a medieval population (13th-14th century) of northern Spain (Gormaz, Soria)

Cited by 17 publications

References 66 publications

Deep brain stimulation for psychiatric disorders: where we are now

Deep brain stimulation for psychiatric disorders: where we are now

Ante Mortem Cranial Trepanation in the Late Bronze Age in Western Siberia

Early Medical Skull Surgery for Treatment of Post-Traumatic Osteomyelitis 5,000 Years Ago

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