Historical considerations of the diagnosis and treatment of facial pain.
Most forms of facial pain remain neurologic disorders that, although not life threatening, can be debilitating. Modern descriptions of the various forms of facial pain according to their clinical and anatomic patterns did not develop until after the contributions of the early modern neuroanatomists and physiologists in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. These contributions allowed the recognition of relatively distinct painful afflictions of the face, and permitted surgeons in the late nineteenth century to embark confidently on a variety of approaches to cranial and peripheral nerves using decompressive or destructive procedures to alleviate facial pain.
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Division of Neurosurgery, Barrow Neurological Institute, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona 85013, USA.
D003389:Cranial Nerve Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000266:history / Q000628:therapy; D004564:Electrocoagulation / Q000266:history; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000266:history* / Q000628:therapy; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000266:history*; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000266:history; D014277:Trigeminal Neuralgia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000266:history* / Q000628:therapy