Dante and cardiology: Physiopathology and clinical features of cardiovascular diseases in the Middle Ages

Riva, Michele Augusto; Cambioli, Luca; Castagna, F.; Cianci, Nicole; Varrenti, Marisa; Giannattasio, C; Cesana, Giancarlo

doi:10.1016/j.ijcard.2014.11.225

Cited by 19 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Sinon feels insulted for not being named explicitly by Master Adam, and reaches out to slap his bloated belly, which sounds like a drum (Figure 1). (Riva et al, 2015;Bartoli, 2007;Bianucci, 2017). In fact, this may be one of the most ancient, yet accurate, descriptions of symptoms and signs of tense ascites in the literature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Many ancient writings report the depth of Dante's medical knowledge (Riva, et al, 2015). Not much is known about Dante's education, though.…”

Section: Dante's Medical Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lastly, in The Divine Comedy, Dante demonstrates extensive medical knowledge that would qualify him as a physician, even if he never practiced this art (Riva, et al, 2015;Gilson, 2007).…”

Section: Dante's Medical Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

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DANTE’s Medical Knowledge: The Case of INFERNO, Canto XXX

Roffi¹

2018

AHS

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The Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri, describes an imaginative journey in afterlife. In Hell, canto XXX, Dante meets the falsifiers and sees a man who has the shape of a lute, a rotting face, and an abdomen bloated by "dropsy". This horribly deformed sinner is Master Adam, who counterfeited Florentine money, and for this crime was burned at the stake. Previous critics had ascribed Master Adam's punishment to various real or imaginary diseases, but an alternative possibility is that it may represent one of the most ancient, yet accurate, descriptions of tense ascites in the literature.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Many ancient writings report the depth of Dante's medical knowledge (Riva, et al, 2015). Not much is known about Dante's education, though.…”

Section: Dante's Medical Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

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DANTE’s Medical Knowledge: The Case of INFERNO, Canto XXX

Roffi¹

2018

AHS

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“…12 It would therefore not be surprising to discover that Boccaccio's scholarly acumen and encyclopedic memory might, therefore, have played a part in his portrayal of cardiac afflictions. As a matter of fact, such a technique would have dovetailed nicely with the self-same realism that his readers have admired for centuries.…”

Section: Toscano Et Al Sudden Death In Boccaccio's Decameron 189mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Case of Sudden Death in Decameron IV.6

Toscano

Spani

Papio

et al. 2016

Circulation Research

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Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron contains a novella that details the sudden death of a young man called Gabriotto, including a portrayal of the discomfort that the protagonist experienced and a rudimentary autopsy performed by local physicians. The intriguing description of symptoms and pathologies has made it possible to read a 7-century-old case through the modern clinical lens. Thanks to the medical and philological analysis of the text—despite the vast difference between modern and medieval medicine—2 hypothetical diagnoses have emerged: either an aortic dissection or an atrial myxoma.

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“…For example, in the Inferno the poet depicts the torments of damned souls of falsifiers suffering from scabies [4], whereas in the Convivio , a prose work written between 1304 and 1307, Dante provides an accurate description of a sudden visual disorder - probably asthenopia - that he suffered from when he was 27 years old [5]. Furthermore, modern medical readers may also find references to some symptoms (collapse, syncope, orthopnea, shortness of breath) and signs (ascites, paleness), which may be nowadays attributed to cardiovascular disorders [6,7]. It is to be expected that references to neurological diseases and symptoms could be similarly evidenced in his works.…”

Section: Introduction: Dante and Medicinementioning

confidence: 99%

The Neurologist in Dante's <b><i>Inferno</i></b>

Riva

Bellani

Tremolizzo³

et al. 2015

Eur Neurol

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The year 2015 marks the 750th birth anniversary of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321). It is less known that Dante had a sound level of medical knowledge, probably derived by his academic studies. In his works, medieval notions of neuroanatomy and neurophysiology (e.g. the connection between brain and spinal cord, function of optic nerve and peripheral nerves, knowledge of vegetative nervous system) and descriptions of neurological disorders (e.g. epileptic seizures, effects on nervous system by metal intoxication, and narcolepsy) may be found, specially in the Inferno, the first part of his masterpiece, the Divine Comedy. These accurate descriptions have led some authors to believe that the poet himself may have suffered from a neurological disease (epilepsy or hypersomnia). Damned souls of the Inferno seem to be also afflicted by psychiatric disorders, such as melancholia and depression. The analysis of Dante's works confirms that poetry - as well as literature in general - may be an important source of information for historians of neurology.

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Dante and cardiology: Physiopathology and clinical features of cardiovascular diseases in the Middle Ages

Cited by 19 publications

References 6 publications

DANTE’s Medical Knowledge: The Case of INFERNO, Canto XXX

DANTE’s Medical Knowledge: The Case of INFERNO, Canto XXX

A Case of Sudden Death in Decameron IV.6

The Neurologist in Dante's <b><i>Inferno</i></b>

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