title: Miserere colic (Miserere mei). Contribution on etymology and clinical features; hypothesis on its appearance in medical literature during centuries 17th-18th.
abstract: The definition of ileus has undergone deep changes over the last three millennia. The term ileus was originally used in Classic Greece to describe a common cause of intestinal obstruction, and subsequently the Romans would often translate it into the Latin word volvulus. During the Renaissance, ileus, volvulus and intussusception became synonymous with a vulgar term--Miserere Mei or Miserere colic--whose origin and evolution are still much of a mystery. This paper provides some historical investigation on the Miserere Mei or Miserere colic, with the aim of discussing its evolution within medical literature during the 17th and 18th centuries.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery A, Hospital Juan Canalejo, La Coruña, Spain.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Acea Nebril
mesh_terms: D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D007415:Intestinal Obstruction / Q000266:history*; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology; D009626:Terminology as Topic