Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that causes seizures, and it affects approximately 1.5% of the population (CDC). The roots of this disorder can be traced back to almost 2,000 B.C, beginning with texts from the Assyrian and the Babylonian empires (Highlights). Written in approximately 400 BC, “On the Sacred Disease” was a work by the Hippocratic Corpus in which doubt was cast on epilepsy as a supernatural or divine disorder, and epilepsy was first remarked as a natural and earthly disorder (HW). The disorder of epilepsy has fascinated people for centuries, and even now, scientists are unsure of its biological origins, and there is still no cure available. The careers of some of the loudest voices in the study of epilepsy flourished during
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In 1807, Pinel published his work Nosographie Philosophique, in which he classifies the disorder of epilepsy under “névroses des fonctions cérébrales,” or neuroses of cerebral function (nosographie 70). This began an onslaught of attempts to classify epilepsy and different subtypes of epilepsy, such as idiopathic and sympathetic. As attempts were being made to classify epilepsy, the classifications were corroborated and refuted by anatomical inspections. Doctors wanted to prove and justify their classifications, so they turned to studying the anatomy of the brain. These pathological studies were done via autopsies of the brains of deceased epileptics. Unfortunately, Esquirol was one of many doctors who couldn’t find “the seat of epilepsy” in pathological anatomy. Esquirol did not give up on studying pathological anatomy, saying “we must not be discouraged,” so many doctors pushed forward with studies of anatomy of the brain of epileptics (Esquirol 160). Dr. Edward Sieveking of London detailed German anatomist Dr. Joseph Wenzel’s false discovery of the pituitary gland as the seat of epilepsy (Sieveking 168). As discoveries of localized function within the brain came about, doctors focused on the different functions that disappeared during an epileptic attack, such as “intelligence” and “voluntary movements.” French neurologist Achille-Louis Foville hypothesized that if he could find where these functions were located in the brain, then he could find “the seat of epilepsy” (The Falling). Through the early 19th century, theories and explanations on the seat of epilepsy within the brain were
In 1807, Pinel published his work Nosographie Philosophique, in which he classifies the disorder of epilepsy under “névroses des fonctions cérébrales,” or neuroses of cerebral function (nosographie 70). This began an onslaught of attempts to classify epilepsy and different subtypes of epilepsy, such as idiopathic and sympathetic. As attempts were being made to classify epilepsy, the classifications were corroborated and refuted by anatomical inspections. Doctors wanted to prove and justify their classifications, so they turned to studying the anatomy of the brain. These pathological studies were done via autopsies of the brains of deceased epileptics. Unfortunately, Esquirol was one of many doctors who couldn’t find “the seat of epilepsy” in pathological anatomy. Esquirol did not give up on studying pathological anatomy, saying “we must not be discouraged,” so many doctors pushed forward with studies of anatomy of the brain of epileptics (Esquirol 160). Dr. Edward Sieveking of London detailed German anatomist Dr. Joseph Wenzel’s false discovery of the pituitary gland as the seat of epilepsy (Sieveking 168). As discoveries of localized function within the brain came about, doctors focused on the different functions that disappeared during an epileptic attack, such as “intelligence” and “voluntary movements.” French neurologist Achille-Louis Foville hypothesized that if he could find where these functions were located in the brain, then he could find “the seat of epilepsy” (The Falling). Through the early 19th century, theories and explanations on the seat of epilepsy within the brain were