Broca's aphemia: an illustrated account of its clinico-anatomic validity.
OBJECTIVE
To present the case of a 54-year-old man with loss of speech, but with preservation of voluntary facio-lingual motility, language and other cognitive abilities (Broca's aphemia).


METHODS
Observation of patient oral communicative abilities and general behavior, neuropsychological assessment and cranial computed tomography.


RESULTS
Computed tomography showed a hyperdense lesion in the subcortex of the left precentral gyrus corresponding to Brodmann's area 6 and 44. Neuropsychological assessment confirmed that the major cognitive domains were intact.


CONCLUSIONS
Our patient reiterates the validity of Broca's aphemia as a clinico-anatomic entity allowing us to portray it for the first time in pictures. From a neurobehavioral perspective, aphemia is related to apraxia rather than to aphasia, a fact that may have hampered the full grasp of its far-reaching implications for neurology and aphasiology.
Oliveira-Souza
Ricardo de
Rd
1Hospital Universitário Gaffrée e Guinle, Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brazil. rdeoliveira@gmail.com
Moll
Jorge
J
Caparelli-Dáquer
Egas M A
EM
D001072:Apraxias / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed