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Bold Statements On Hairy Hearts
Athanasios A. DIAMANDOPOULOS*, Pavlos C. GOUDAS**
* MD, PhD, Ass.Prof.Med., Nephrological Clinic «St. Andrews» General Hospital Patras,** MD, Nephrological Clinic «St. Andrews» General Hospital Patras, GREECE
The paper studies a particular aspect of the history of pericarditis, namely, the expression «hairy heart» used by many Ancient and Medieval Greek authors, and it's interpretation in the current medico-historical literature. A modern historian, D. Spodick, in an article in the American Journal of Cardiology, considers it to be the first report of adhesive pericarditis. In the present paper we have critically compared twenty two original Greek medical and other codices related to the subject, dated from the 8th C. B.C. to the 12th C. A.D. Based on these data we conclude that the expression «hairy heart» has been misunderstood. It has nothing to do with pericarditis, but it is a mere metaphor meaning «brave man».This paper also refutes in passing, a parallel misinterpretation found in the modern history of pericarditis, namely, the theory that the expression «a heart's circumcision» traced in the Dead Sea Scrolls refers to pericardiectomy, as it has been claimed by some writers, the real meaning being «soul's purification».We conclude that there is a need of a thorough knowledge of the original classical languages in order to interpret ancient texts in modern medical terms.Keywords: History, Cardiology, PericarditisTurkiye Klinikleri J Med Ethics-Hukuku-Tarihi 2002, 10:6-10
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