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The Cure of Folly
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Tis not amiss to bore the skull with an instrument, to let out the fuliginous vapors. . . . Guinerius cured a nobleman in Savoy by boring alone . . . by means of which, after two years [of] melancholy and madness, he was delivered.
Robert Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy, 16521(p450)
Trepanning is the removal of a piece of bone from the skull without damage to the underlying blood vessels, meninges, and brain. It may be the world’s oldest known surgical procedure, having been practiced throughout the world since the late Paleolithic period. The earliest detailed account is from Hippocrates2 (ca 460 to 355 BC) in the fifth century BC; it was to be performed for wounds of the head within 3 days following a contusion and within 2 weeks for suspected infections. Modern recognition of its historical importance began in 1865 when an American diplomat, Ephraim George Squier (1821-1888), brought a skull . . . [Full Text of this Article]
James C. Harris, MD
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
The Metamorphosis of Narcissus
Harris
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2005;62:124-125.
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