title: The wind of the cannon ball: an informative anecdote from medical history.
abstract: When Cartesian dualism became a determining philosophical basis of medical theory, psychosomatic events became logical impossibilities. In the nineteenth century, physicians confronted with a class of such events - battle casualties without externally inflicted injuries - sought mechanistic interpretations in the 'wind' of the cannon ball. Those who rejected these ineffective hypotheses were forced to deny the existence of such casualties. Today we acknowledge the existence of psychosomatic events. The logical barrier to understanding them, however, remains at the basis of medical theory and must be eradicated.
mesh_terms: D003645:Death, Sudden; D005060:Europe; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008887:Military Medicine / Q000266:history*; D009656:North America; D011611:Psychosomatic Medicine / Q000266:history*