Sir Felix Semon (1849-1921): pioneer in neurolaryngology.

This article will attempt to review the historical and scientific literature pertaining to the life and work of Felix Semon (1849-1921). Sir Felix Semon was one of the most distinguished figures in the early development of laryngology. He was an astute researcher of laryngeal pathophysiology and an active participant in laryngological scientific societies. Felix Semon was a talented doctor and was one of the most esteemed laryngologists in London for 35 years (1875-1910). Primarily, his scientific interests included complications after thyroid surgery, laryngeal cancer, tuberculosis and motor innervation of the larynx, and movement disorders of the larynx. Semon formulated the law regarding the sequence of occurrence of the laryngeal muscle paralysis-abduction before adduction. The 132 articles he had published over the years have had a significant impact on contemporary medical knowledge. At the 160th anniversary of Semon's birth, we attempt to summarize his invaluable contribution to laryngology.

Themistocles Gluck: biographic remarks emphasising his contributions to laryngectomy.

Themistocles Gluck was one of the most imaginative representatives of early modern surgery. During his life he developed landmark innovations in many different areas of surgery. His ideas were often far ahead of his time, a circumstance, which exposed him to severe criticism by his peers. In an era before surgical specialization, he contributed to several fields of surgery. He performed the first total joint replacement in Berlin, in 1890 with a hinged ivory prosthetic knee, and developed models for replacement of shoulder, elbow, and wrist. These efforts had remarkable short term success, but invariably failed in the long term because of infection. A long standing conflict with the powerful Ernst von Bergmann, seriously damaged Gluck's reputation, which he eventually regained, mostly because of his contributions to surgery of the head and neck; in particular, total laryngectomy. The results of laryngectomy in the decade after Billroth's first successful operation were dismal. Through Glucks refinements, developed in cooperation with his coworkers Johannes Soerensen, the results of laryngectomy improved slowly but inexorably, and mortality rates were reduced from 56 to 2%. In his lifetime, Gluck made significant contributions to head and neck surgery, some of which are still currently valid. This publication gives an outline of Gluck's remarkable biography.

[Felix Semon's contribution to the research on motor innervation of the larynx]. / Udzial Felixa Semona w badaniach nad unerwieniem ruchowym krtani.

AIM: It remains of great interest of many scientists to establish the motor innervation of the larynx. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The authors of this study analyzed available literature regarding progress in research in motor innervation of the larynx. RESULTS: Vocal folds paralysis may occur in central as well as in peripheral lesions. The movement of internal laryngeal muscles is controlled by efferent fibers of recurrent laryngeal nerves. For over 150 years intensive research has been conducted on efferent laryngeal innervation. CONCLUSIONS: The authors have commented on its progress since the second half of the XIXth century until present day. Results of the scientific investigation on the nature of laryngeal nerve supply performed by Felix Semon has been discussed.

[The laryngological achievements of Andrzej Janikowski (1799-1864)]. / Laryngologiczne osiagniecia Andrzeja Janikowskiego (1799-1864).

The professional and scientific activities of Andrzej Janikowski (1799-1864), surgeon, physician of forensic medicine, psychiatrist his thorough medical education in various European medical countries are presented widely. He was a professor of theoretical surgery at Royal Warsaw University. He was a founder of Pharmaceutic School in Warsaw. His therapeutic trials of cure of ulceration of frontal bone and membranous laryngitis are described. He was a good reporter on foreign physicians works.

Laringocele mixto manifestado como una tumoración cervical / Mixed laryngocele evidenced as a lump in the neck

El laringocele es una dilatación llena de aire del sáculo del ventrículo laríngeo originado por un aumento anormal del tamaño del sáculo. La mayoría son asintomáticos y unilaterales, resultando ser hallazgos casuales descubiertos en exploraciones realizadas por otra causa. En la última década ha adquirido una mayor importancia debido: al incremento de su diagnóstico por el uso de TAC, y su asociación con el cáncer de laringe; obligando a descartar una patología tumoral subyacente ante todo laringocele. A pesar de ser una patología laríngea infrecuente y benigna, puede llegar a ser potencialmente letal por el distress ocasionado.

A laryngocele is an air-filled dilatation of the saccule of the laryngeal ventricle originated by an abnormal increase in size of the saccule. Most of them are asymptomatic and unilateral incidental findings found in explorations performed for other reasons. It has become fairly relevant in the lastdecade due to the increased diagnosis by the use of CT scan and its relationship with laryngeal cáncer (well recognised by most authors). This has made it necessary to exclude an underlying neoplasic cause for any laryngocele. In spite of being an infrequent and benign disease it can be potentially lethal due to the associated disturbances.

The history of horizontal glottectomy.

The history of horizontal glottectomy (HG) for the treatment of bilateral vocal cord lesions is not entirely clear. The present investigation analyzes the history of HG on the basis of cross-referenced database searches in general and professional medical literature databases. Books, original historical articles and medical history reviews were evaluated. The initial work was done by Moser in years from 1959 to 1965, and in 1961 he published the first paper on HG. Follow-up publications were reported in 1977 by Gramowski and in 1984 by Wilke. In 1970, Romanian laryngologists headed by Calarasu described a HG via excision of a rhomboid-shaped portion of the thyroid cartilage, but the authors had neither sufficient numbers of patients nor a sufficiently long follow-up for the procedure to gain widespread acceptance. In 1978, Calearo and Teatini described HG similar to Calarasu's method, but slightly more extended by the eventual inclusion of an arytenoid cartilage in the operative specimen. Theses authors have often been credited as the originators of the procedure, but actually were the first to publish in an English language journal. The procedure, while quite effective for treatment of bilateral and anterior commissure lesions, has never gained general acceptance in the United States, and in current practice, has been supplanted by endoscopic and non-surgical treatments.

[Julian Kosinski (1833-1914)--especially meritous surgeon for the development of otorynolaryngology. His achievements in therapy of diseases of larynx]. / Julian Kosinski (1833-1914)--chirurg szczególnie zasluzony dla rozwoju otorynolaryngologii. Jego dokonania w leczeniu chorób krtani.

The achievements in surgical treatment of larynx diseases by Julian Kosinski (1833-1914), an eminent Warsaw surgeon, the head of Surgical Clinic in Main School and Warsaw Imperial University performed according to contemporary world-wide standards are presented in more detail. His successful surgical treatment such diseases as postinflammatory adhesions of larynx, diphtheria, syphilis of larynx, polyps of larynx and other are described in some more detail. The laryngectomy by Theodor Billroth in 1873 are described in short. The analysis the first laryngectomy in Polish territories performed by Julian Kosinski ("the tenth world laryngectomist") in 1877 is performed with full particulars. The surgical difficulties, the postoperating management are discussed. The reasons of failures of the laryngectomies in XIX century are analysed widely.

[Armand Trousseau, laryngologist]. / Armand Trousseau laryngologiste.

Trousseau's contribution to laryngology was considerable, but it was eclipsed by his reputation in other fields. His work in the field was not limited to the diffusion of tracheotomy for the treatment of croup, despite opposition from certain surgeons. He totally transformed the intervention, which up until then had been undertaken without any specific methodology, into a controlled procedure with principles that still apply today. He undertook the study of chronic diseases of the larynx and wrote the first work dedicated to this pathology, before the arrival of laryngoscopy. He reported the first recorded and illustrated case of laryngeal cancer for which he himself performed a tracheotomy. Laryngeal pathology was an important centre of interest throughout his career. With the arrival of laryngoscopy at the end of his professional life, Armand Trousseau had left a lifetime's work that facilitated the expansion of the new generation of laryngology. He could be considered as the first medico-surgical laryngologist, mastering both an in-depth knowledge of the organ, its medicine, and surgery, which at that time was limited to tracheotomy.

[The treatment of laryngeal movement disorders with botulinum toxin: part 2: experience and considerations]. / Die Behandlung laryngealer Bewegungsstörungen mit Botulinumtoxinen : Teil 2: Erfahrungen und Uberlegungen.

Laryngeal dystonia (spasmodic dysphonia) is a movement disorder characterised by involuntary contractions of the laryngeal muscles involved in vocalisation. The introduction of botulinum toxin (BTX) in the treatment of laryngeal dystonia had a major clinical impact due to the striking improvement of symptoms. In general, BTX can be delivered by percutaneous injection or by the transoral route. The subcutaneous method is simple, but the effects of the transoral injection, applied through a curved device or by use of a flexible nasolaryngoscope with a working channel and visual control, might be more effective. However, for various reasons the transoral route does not work in every patient. We report our experiences using these different techniques for the monitoring of patients and their treatment with botulinum toxin in laryngeal movement disorders.

[Treatment of laryngeal movement disorders with botulinum toxins: part 1: History and mode of action]. / Die Behandlung laryngealer Bewegungsstörungen mit Botulinumtoxinen: Teil 1: Geschichte und Wirkmechanismus.

Laryngeal dystonia (spasmodic dysphonia) is a movement disorder characterised by involuntary contractions of the laryngeal muscles involved in vocalisation. The introduction of botulinum toxin (BTX) in the treatment of laryngeal dystonia had a major clinical impact due to the striking improvement of symptoms. Most patients with severe types of spasmodic dysphonia are treated with injections of botulinum toxin type A. For patients with a resistance against type A toxin there is a new hypercleaned type A toxin or type B available. Research on type F toxin is also underway. In this article, the history of botulinum toxin, its therapeutic activity and possibilities for its use are described.

[Katarrus, chrapota, slinogorz--names and treatment of laryngeal diseases on the basis of 15th and 16th century relics of Polish language]. / Katarrus, chrapota, slinogorz, czyli o nazwach i leczeniu schorzen laryngologicznych na podstawie zabytków jezyka polskiego z XV i XVI wieku.

The paper outlines the beginnings of the process of naming laryngological diseases in the Polish language, and is based on 15th and 16th century relics of the Polish language. The authors relied in their analysis on the registers, as well as practical health guides such as herbarium books and strictly scientific medical manuals. Most of old Polish names of illnesses include original names based on the observation of the symptoms of illnesses and their clinical aspects. A great number of synonyms, both native and derived from foreign words, deserve special attention, indicating that attempts must have been made to find appropriate terms, which would best express the characteristics of a given illness. The presence of names derived from Latin and Greek should be attributed to the attempts at unifying medical terminology. Over the centuries, as the language and medical science have developed, names of illnesses have undergone a number of changes. It should be noted that numerous names derived from old Polish are still applied as medical terms.

[Diagnosis and therapy of diseases of the larynx in the history of medicine]. / Diagnostik und Therapie der Kehlkopfkrankheiten in der Geschichte der Medizin - Teil II: Die Erfindung der indirekten Laryngoskopie.

BACKGROUND: FIRST CLINICAL APPROACHES. Bozzini in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1806 constructed the first endoscope, by which cavities of the human body could be inspected through a tube, but he was hardly able to demonstrate the larynx. His attempts were continued by Avery in London in 1840 with special view to the larynx but were not successful. Babington in London in 1829 constructed a glottiscope combining an angled mirror with a depressor for the tongue. He will probably have been able to inspect the larynx in some cases, but he did not continue these studies. Liston in London in 1837 reported that he had seen pathological findings of the larynx in a few cases by means of an angled mirror. FIELD OF RESEARCH: PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOICE. Ferrein in Paris in 1741 was the first to carry out experiments on human larynges. These were continued in a systematic way by the physiologist Johannes Müller in Berlin in 1837 analysing the movements of the vocal cords. Manuel Garcia, a Spanish singing teacher, first in Paris, later in London, had studied the anatomy of the larynx very carefully, especially the muscle fibres. In 1855 he succeeded in inspecting his own larynx by means of an angled mirror and observed and described the movements of the vocal cords in great detail. At first his discovery did not arouse great attention, but later he was honoured very much as the inventor of laryngoscopy. SYNTHESIS OF PHYSIOLOGY AND CLINIC: Vienna 1857/58: The physiologist Carl Ludwig was preparing the second edition of his textbook on physiology, in which he extensively referred to Garcia's technique of laryngoscopy. His collegue Ernst Brücke was working on the physiological basis of phonetics. Johann Nepomuk Czermak, also a physiologist, was a guest of Brücke's and Ludwig's in Vienna during the winter 1857/58 and was inspired by the research work of his hosts. The neurologist Ludwig Türck had made experiments to visualize the human larynx in bodies and patients without knowing of Garcia's achievements. Since he used sun light only he had interrupted his studies in autumn 1857 and had lent his instrument, a mirror similar to that used by Garcia, to Czermak. Czermak used artificial light and the perforated concave mirror that had recently been introduced into ophthalmology. He was at once successful in inspecting his own larynx. He reported on this as early as March 1858 without informing Türck, although he mentioned him and the mirror that he had lent him. There was a public dispute about the priority between Türck and Czermak which drew wide attention to the invention of laryngoscopy which now was readily introduced in practical medicine forming the new discipline of laryngology. This development is delineated with many anecdotal details.

[Diagnosis and therapy of laryngeal diseases in the history of medicine. I: The pre-laryngoscopic era]. / Die Diagnostik und Therapie der Kehlkopfkrankheiten in der Geschichte der Medizin. Teil I: Die vorlaryngoskopische Ara.

BACKGROUND: ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY: Hippocrates and Aristotle did not yet have a clear idea of the anatomy and physiology of the larynx. 500 years later Galenos carried out subtle studies on animals and elaborated a fairly precise description of the different cartilages, muscles and nerves of the larynx; he was the first to demonstrate the superior and the recurrent nerves of the larynx. He performed numerous experiments on animals with temporary or permanent interruption of the nervous function and thus developed a correct opinion of the vocal physiology. However, he did not draw clinical conclusions from his knowledge. In the 16th century the macroscopic anatomy of the larynx was elaborated further bei Andreas Vesalius, Fabricius ab Aquapendente et al.; Jacob Henle in 1838 described the different epithelia in the larynx, based on microscopic studies. The pathology was inaugurated by Giovanni-Battista Morgagni in 1761, including the pathology of the larynx. Francis Home in Edinburgh (1765) and Pierre-Fidèle Bretonneau in Tours (1826) made the first studies on croup and diphtheria and coined these names. Fr. Hermann Albers in Bonn in 1829 published the first monography on diseases of the larynx, incorporating more than 80 relevant case reports from the literature and numerous observations of his own. The first system of the pathology of the larynx was put up by von Rokitansky in Vienna. DIAGNOSIS AND THERAPY OF DISEASES OF THE LARYNX: Before the invention of laryngoscopy the physicians could deduce the underlying disease only from the clinical symptoms like hoarseness, dyspnoea, dysphagia. The conservative therapy followed the theory of humours and included bloodletting, leeches, purgatives and emetics; the surgical procedures were blind caustery with silver nitrate and ablation of polyps guided by palpation and scarification with a knife in cases of oedema; in desperate dyspnoea endonasal intubation was attempted (Desault 1789-1803) or a tracheotomy performed. Concluding the chapters a typical patient history of 1813 with a case of purulent laryngitis where most of these measures were applied but could not avert but rather provoked the death of the patient. This historical development is described with numerous anecdotic details.