title: History of the Emergence and Recognition of Syringomyelia in the 19th Century.
abstract: Charles-Prosper Ollivier d'Angers coined the term "syringomyelia" in 1827 to describe the presence of a cavity in the spinal cord, which he considered pathological in all cases. In 1882 in Germany, Otto von Kahler and Friedrich Schultze defined the clinical syndrome, which associated Duchenne-Aran muscular dystrophy of a limb with sensory dissociation. They explained the syndrome by the presence of an abnormal cavity, distinct from that found in the spinal cord of healthy adults. Although Guillaume Duchenne de Boulogne and Jean-Martin Charcot had observed cases in France, both failed to identify syringomyelia, whereas a family physician in Brittany, Augustin Morvan, described the clinical symptomatology using the term "analgesic whitlow" in 1883. Based on several dozen observations that they collated in their remarkable theses,Anna Bumler in Zurich in 1887 and Isidore Bruhl in Paris in 1890 established the complete clinical picture of syringomyelia, covering anatomic functional and pathological aspects. Whereas Charcot isolated pathologies by correlating clinical signs with anatomo-pathological lesions, the isolation of syringomyelia initially involved an anatomo-pathological concept before the semiology was defined. In addition, this work would later enhance physiological understanding of sensory spinal pathways.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Walusinski
mesh_terms: D005602:France; D005858:Germany; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D013557:Switzerland; D013595:Syringomyelia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000266:history*