Dizziness and vertigo syndromes viewed with a historical eye

AbstractSeasickness, fear of heights, and adverse effects of alcohol were the major areas where descriptions of vertigo and dizziness were found in Roman, Greek, and Chinese texts from about 730 BC –600 AD. A few detailed accounts were suggestive of specific vestibular disorders such as Menière’s attacks (Huangdi Neijing, the Yellow Thearch ’s Classic of Internal Medicine) or vestibular migraine (Aretaeus of Cappadocia). Further, the etymological and metaphorical meanings of the terms and their symptoms provide fascinating historical insights, e.g. Vespasian ’s feelings of dizzy exultations when becoming Emperor (69 AD) after Nero’s suicide or the figurative meaning of German “Schwindel” (vertigo) derived from English “swindle” to express “financial fraud” in the Eighteenth century. The growth of knowledge of the vestibular system and it s functions began primarily in the Nineteenth century. Erasmus Darwin, however, was ahead of his times. His workZoonomia, or The Laws of Organic Life in 1794 described new dizziness syndromes and concepts of sensorimotor control including the mechanism of fear of heights as well as made early observations on positional alcohol vertigo. The latter is beautifully illustrated by the German poet and cartoonist Wilhelm Busch (1832 –1908) who also documented the alleviating effect of the “morning after drink”. The mechanism underlying positional alcohol vertigo, i.e., the differential gravities of alcohol and endolymph,...
Source: Journal of Neurology - Category: Neurology Source Type: research