The human body through the El Greco’s eyes

Abrupt Cognitive Decline in Thalamic Tumor—Case Report

“…In this context, the thalamus represents a major relay center and even focal thalamic lesions might be associated with neurocognitive disturbances. 3 A study by Smith et al evaluated the variation in the expression of anterograde and retrograde amnesia in 11 patients with impaired memory function and bilateral mesial temporal lesions. Midline intra-axial tumors are known to cause progressive neurological deterioration either by infiltrating and disrupting the normal nuclei and tracts or by causing obstructive hydrocephalus.…”

“…4 Poor prognosis is seen in patients presenting with symptoms of increased intracranial tension as their first clinical manifestation. 3 Overall guidelines on the treatment of progressive glioma remain obscure and the prognosis of the patient with thalamic glioma regardless of the type of treatment remains poor. The poor prognosis of a patient with thalamic glioma has been attributed to the occlusion of cerebrospinal fluid circulation and a V-P shunt is suggested for the same.…”

The observation of art and the art of observing individuals with physical differences

“…Of course, patients with Marfan syndrome have a spectrum of phenotypes. Some scholars have hypothesized that the long and slender figures portrayed by Domenikos Theotokópoulus (the Greek artist better known as “El Greco”) are very suggestive of Marfan syndrome (Kwoczyński, 2006; Martínez‐Lage, Piqueras, & Pérez‐Espejo, 2014; Figure 2).…”

Arachnodactyly represented in art

“…In this painting, Christ also appears to have a pectus excavatum. To some, exaggeration of the bodily proportions, especially arachnodactyly, evokes features of the Marfan syndrome (Kwoczyński, 2006; Martinez‐Lage, Piqueras, & Pérez‐Espejo, 2014).…”