How ancient is temporal arteritis?
Realism is one of the characteristics of Amarnian art; some details of The Harpist represented in the tomb of Pa-Aton-Em-Heb (1350 BC, 18th Dynasty) might gives clues to a diagnosis: the eyes are closed with swollen lids, and the harpist appears to stare into space; he is round shouldered with a very wasted face, his temporal ara is heightened and hollowed by a broken line joining the extremity of the eyebrow with the corner of the eye. These details are not found elsewhere. Did the harpist's blindness result from temporal arteritis associated to polymyalgia rheumatica?
Division of Rheumatology, Erasmus University Hospital, University of Brussels, Belgium.
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T
Appelboom
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van Eigem
D013700:Giant Cell Arteritis / Q000266:history*; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D008512:Medicine in the Arts; D012613:Sculpture / Q000266:history