Anthropological neurology: symptoms and their meanings according to Joseph Prick (1909-1978).
This article describes the life and work of the Dutch neurologist Joseph Prick (1909-1978) and his idea of an anthropological neurology. According to Prick, neurological symptoms should not only be explained from an underlying physico-chemical substrate but also be regarded as meaningful. We present an outline of the historical and philosophical context of his ideas with a focus on the theory of the human body by the French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961) and the concept of anthropology-based medicine developed by Frederik Buytendijk (1887-1974). We give an overview of anthropological neurology as a clinical practice and finally we discuss the value of Prick's approach for clinical neurology today.
Department of Neurology, Saint Lucas Andreas Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. bas.termeulen@slaz.nl
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BC
ter Meulen
W J M
WJ
Dekkers
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A
Keyser
T C A M
TC
van Woerkom
D000883:Anthropology / Q000266:history* / Q000379:methods; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000266:history*; D009426:Netherlands; D009462:Neurology / Q000266:history* / Q000379:methods; D009484:Neuropsychology / Q000266:history*