ABSTRACT
The Clubfoot painted by José de Ribera depicts a young beggar affected by a typical equinus clubfoot. He shows a contorted right hand and wrist. His left hand holds a begging note, suggesting some difficulty to speak. This condition may be caused by a cerebral palsy, consisting of a brain injury in the left hemisphere responsible for right hemiplegia and speech disturbance. Recently, it was suggested that the boy's condition is a consequence of arthrogryposis, perhaps amyoplasia or distal arthrogryposis type A1. Some clinical features may suggest the diagnosis of Sheldon-Hall syndrome. Considering all the signs represented on the painting, the diagnosis of hemiplegia due to cerebral palsy cannot be discarded. The present article is a novel analysis of the painting based on previously proposed diagnoses of the boy's condition, namely, hemiplegia and arthrogryposis.
Subject(s)
Clubfoot/etiology , Medicine in the Arts , Paintings , Arthrogryposis/diagnosis , Arthrogryposis/history , Cerebral Palsy/diagnosis , Clubfoot/history , Diagnosis, Differential , Hemiplegia/etiology , History, 17th Century , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
Among ancient fanciful creatures, men without a head have often been represented since the end of the Middle-ages, especially during the Renaissance and until the 18th century. They are probably inspired from new-born anencephalic infants.
Subject(s)
Anencephaly/history , Mythology , History, 15th Century , History, 16th Century , History, 17th Century , History, 18th Century , History, 19th Century , History, Ancient , History, MedievalABSTRACT
Slow freezing of human oocytes is not yet a practical option. A new rapid freezing technique known as vitrification has recently been validated for use in assisted reproductive technologies. We propose to conduct a national trial aimed at validating this method in France. In theory this new approach can reduce the number of ovarian stimulations required for a give number of implantations. In addition, it has the potential to provide an alternative to embryo freezing, a procedure that raises the thorny issue of the fate of supernumerary embryos.
