Hallmarks in the history of cerebral palsy: from antiquity to mid-20th century

Abstract

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a term that has been applied over the years to a group of children with motor disability and related service requirements. The first conceptions of cerebral palsy and our knowledge about aetiology and pathogeny allow us to assume that cerebral palsy existed in the Ancient World. Although there is lack of detailed medical descriptions from before the 19th century, mentions to cerebral palsy can be found in representational art, literary sources and paleopathology; however, because of the poor medical documentation, the diagnosis of cerebral palsy must remain a more or less well-justified supposition. In the Ancient World, the first medical description of cerebral palsy was made by Hippocrates in his work "Corpus Hippocraticum". Concrete examples and definitions of cerebral palsy, however, did not emerge until the early 19th century with observations by William John Little; thus, Little was the first personality to intensely engage cerebral palsy. Towards the end of the 19th century, two more personalities emerged, adding to the historical hallmarks of cerebral palsy: William Osler and Sigmund Freud. The significant developments that have followed since then are all due to the contributions of these three personalities in the field of cerebral palsy.