title: A Patient as Art: Andrew Wyeth's Portrayal of Christina Olson's Neurologic Disorder in Christina's World.
abstract: In Christina's World, one of the most beloved works of American art, Andrew Wyeth painted Christina Olson crawling crablike across the field below her house, raised on emaciated arms, with a swollen knob for an elbow, and hands clenched and gnarled. The significance of these physical abnormalities, and the message Wyeth endeavored to convey via the portrait, are considered here in light of Christina's medical history and the disorder it most likely signifies.
authors.affiliation: 1 Departments of Neurology, Pediatrics and Medical Genetics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Marc C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Social Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Cole
authors.affiliation: 3 Medical Service, VA Maryland Healthcare System, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Eliot
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Siegel
authors.affiliation: 3 Medical Service, VA Maryland Healthcare System, MD, USA.|4 Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Philip A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Mackowiak
mesh_terms: D002607:Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease; D006801:Humans; D008512:Medicine in the Arts; D010151:Paintings; D014481:United States