Galileo Galilei e a propriedade de dar nome a pontos de luz

Abstract

1610. January seven. It is nighttime in Padua. Galileo Galilei begins to record his observations on stars and, more precisely, on the satellites of the planet Jupiter, which he called "Medicean Stars" in honor of the family of Florence Grand Dukes, the Medici. This can be considered the inaugural step of Modern Astronomy, characterized by the beginning of the use of scientific observation tools, mathematical language, and publication of the results. Exactly four centuries later, its remembrance is pertinent, since I was invited to write an Editorial for this edition of the Brazilian Journal of Rheumatology, which, among several relevant articles, presents us a report on a new clinical diagnostic test. When the Directives on Lumbalgias and Lumbosciatalgias was published in this same Journal (Vol. 48-March/April 2008), I suggested it should be called after its "inventor", professor Hamid Alexandre Cecin, as "Cecin's Sign" instead of "X Sign". In the conclusion of "Cecin's Sign ("X" Sign): improving the diagnosis of radicular compression by herniated lumbar disks", the author demonstrates that it is easy to perform, has high sensitivity and negative predictive value, and its performance is superior to that of Lasègue's sign in cases of symptomatic herniated lumbar disks, not forgetting to alert that the validation of this procedure in medical practice and its role in other disorders should be better investigated in prospective studies. In the course of pleasant conversations with one of our more experienced professors, Adil Muhib Samara, he has criticized, more than once, our historical flaw in recording discoveries; Galileo Galilei and the property of naming light spots The author declares no conflict of interest.