title: The strange destiny of Caterina de' Medici and a case of puerperal fever in the sixteenth century.
abstract: The aim of this study is the reconstruction of a case of puerperal fever, which affected the mother of Caterina de' Medici, the future Queen of France, in 1519. Only unpublished data found in the Archives were used, to follow the onset and the development of the disease, offering a glimpse into medical perception of the time. The description of the case provides interesting points of contact with modern medicine.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Department of Anatomy, Histology and Legal Medicine, History of Medicine, University of Florence, Viale Morgagni 85, Florence 50134, Italy. donatella.lippi@unifi.it
authors.forename: Donatella
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lippi
mesh_terms: D001344:Autopsy / Q000941:ethics / Q000266:history; D005197:Famous Persons; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D006235:Hand Disinfection; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D006801:Humans; D008880:Midwifery / Q000266:history; D011247:Pregnancy; D011644:Puerperal Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011645:Puerperal Infection / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission