Did St Birgitta suffer from epilepsy? A neuropathography.
Several famous religious personalities have been discussed as possibly having had epilepsy. Partial epileptic fits can be accompanied by religious experiences. The Swedish St Birgitta of Vadstena is focused on from this perspective as the exterior of the skull thought to belong to her has a prominent tuberculum with a corresponding interior indentation possibly indicating the previous existence of a meningioma, a well known cause of epilepsy. This article scrutinises arguments for and against the possibility of epileptic features in the revelations of the saint, as well as in her life story.
Division of Neurology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Linköping, S-581 85 Linköping, Sweden. anne-marie.landtblom@lio.se
Anne-Marie
AM
Landtblom
D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000266:history* / Q000473:pathology; D005197:Famous Persons; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D018597:Saints / Q000266:history*; D013548:Sweden