Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Jun;39(6):457-463.
doi: 10.1016/j.braindev.2017.02.002. Epub 2017 Feb 27.

Historical documents on epilepsy: From antiquity through the 20th century

Affiliations
Review

Historical documents on epilepsy: From antiquity through the 20th century

Christos P Panteliadis et al. Brain Dev. 2017 Jun.

Abstract

Historical documents dating back almost 4500years have alluded to the condition of epilepsy, describing signs and symptoms that are well-known today. Epilepsy was thought to be a mystical disorder by almost all Ancient cultures, including the Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, Indians, Iranians and Chinese. Hippocrates was the first to de-mystify the condition of epilepsy, providing a more scientific approach to the condition. As the signs and symptoms of epilepsy occurred without an obvious cause, the idea stood that it was a mystical phenomenon of divine punishment. This portrayal persisted through the early centuries of the common era, including the Middle Ages. It was not until the 16th and 17th century that Paracelsus, le Pois and Sylvius started to investigate internal causes for epilepsy. By the beginning of the 18th century, the general opinion on epilepsy was that it was an idiopathic disease residing in the brain and other inner organs. This resulted in Tissot writing the first modern book on epilepsy. Research continued in the 19th century with Jackson describing different types of seizures and many researchers showing interest in electroencephalography (EEG). The 20th century saw more detailed research being done on epilepsy and EEG, in addition to the establishment of many epilepsy-associated medical societies. The goal of this historical documentation is to provide an overview of the most important milestones in the history of epilepsy.

Keywords: Antiquity; Diagnostics; Electroencephalography; Epilepsy; Historical; Seizure.

PubMed Disclaimer