A travel between the Corpus Hippocraticum and the Gazette médicale de Paris: vestibology from its origins to the nineteenth century

Abstract

Background: In ancient times, dizziness was divided into two different forms: ílingos (true and proper vertigo) and skotódinos (vertigo associated with blurred vision). For centuries, it was considered as a cerebral affection: the otologic aetiology remained unthinkable. At the end of the sixteenth century, we find the first written documentation of the otovestibular triad pathognomonic for endolymphatic hydrops: the jurist Bonaventura Angeli from Ferrara, thanks to his symptoms’ description, can rightfully be considered the first patient with Ménière’s syndrome whom we have historical information. From that, the anatomical and physiological studies of balancing system continued: after Valsalva, a first evolution of medical thinking came with the recognition of the presence of liquid, and not air, inside the labyrinth. With Flourens, the principle that the semicircular canals were a vestibular organ, began to emerge.

Purpose: The rationale to perform this research lied in the need to investigate a fascinating chapter of the history of medicine, regarding a difficult subject of otorhinolaryngology: the vestibular system.

Methods: We collected a variety of documents, from Ancient Greek time to nineteenth century, related to the studies of vestibular pathologies, highlighting the earliest evidences of the association between hearing disorders and balance complaints. The finally selected papers were methodologically evaluated.

Results: Because of the frequent association between vestibular and hearing disorders, the hypothesis that ear could be involved both in the sense of hearing and balance gradually advanced across the centuries, until Prosper Ménière’s observations: from 1861 onwards, vertigo was recognized not only as a brain alteration, but also as an otologic disorder.

Conclusions: Although there has been an obvious medical developments regarding the inner ear function, labyrinthine disorders remain a challenging field yet to be explored.

Keywords:

• Bonaventura
• Ménière
• vertigo
• vestibology

Disclosure statement

No conflicts of interest declared. The research has been conducted in full accordance with ethical principles. This research was carried out without funding.