title: Misreading pictures: Fabricius Hildanus (1560-1634) and the cure of spinal dislocation.
abstract: In 1646, Fabricius Hildanus accompanied his description of a new way to apply a setaceum (seton) in the neck with a nicely carved woodcut. In 1951, this same woodcut was used by an author of the History of Neurological Surgery to illustrate Hildanus's method of "reducing cervical dislocation." In 1997 this striking misreading found its way into the History of Neurosurgery in its Scientific and Professional Contexts. The paper discusses how this ahistoric interpretation was possible and why it was perpetuated for nearly half a century.
authors.affiliation: Institute for the History of Medicine and Medical Ethics, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. Marion.Ruisinger@gesch.med.uni-erlangen.de
authors.forename: Marion Maria
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Ruisinger
mesh_terms: D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000503:physiopathology; D005402:Fistula; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D006801:Humans; D004204:Joint Dislocations / Q000266:history* / Q000601:surgery; D008488:Medical Illustration / Q000266:history*; D009333:Neck / Q000503:physiopathology; D009493:Neurosurgery / Q000266:history*; D012867:Skin; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000266:history* / Q000601:surgery; D013492:Suppuration; D013782:Textbooks as Topic / Q000266:history*