The contribution of intellectuals to the history of traumatology during the Renaissance: treatment of femoral fracture through François Rabelais’ glossocomion

Abstract

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, intellectuals often included clinical cases and medical descriptions in their literary works. These authors appeared to be more interested in internal and infectious diseases rather than in musculoskeletal disorders and orthopaedics. François Rabelais (1490-1553) was one of the most renowned humanists and philologists of the sixteenth century. He was also a physician with an interest in translating ancient texts of medical authors. Rabelais rediscovered a device for treating femoral fracture originally described by the Roman physician Galen and named as glossocomion. Since the original apparatus had some imperfections, Rabelais redesigned and modified it. This new, improved version became a model for new devices for treating femoral fracture, as also reported by the great French surgeon Ambroise Paré. For this contribution, Rabelais deserves major consideration in the history of orthopaedics and traumatology.

Treatment of hip fracture of Pope Innocent XII by Marcello Malpighi with bed rest

“…In a recent paper, Hernigou et al described the evolution of the treatment of femur fractures over history, mainly focusing on the development of different systems of traction [1]. In detail, Hippocrates first proposed precursors of the external fixation, while Galen developed an extension apparatus, called glossocomium, then modified and improved by the physician and intellectual François Rabelais (c. 1493-1553) during the Renaissance [2]. The French physician and surgeon Guy de Chauliac (1300-1368) is believed to have introduced continuous isotonic traction for femur fractures.…”

Innovations in Treatment of Femoral Fractures Throughout History

“…This table was later promoted by Roman-Greek physician, Galen (130-200 AD) and remained the standard of care for treatment of femoral fractures until the late 1700's. Galen expanded on Hippocrates philosophy of traction and countertraction with a device he designed arranged on a series of pullies constructed in a much smaller frame surrounding the leg called a glossocomion (Manzini et al 2016). (Fig 3).…”