Frederik Ruysch (1638-1731): Historical perspective and contemporary analysis of his teratological legacy.

The Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) in Saint Petersburg is the oldest museum in Russia. It keeps the remains of the anatomical collection of the world-famous 17th century Dutch anatomist Frederik Ruysch. This unique collection was bought and shipped in 1717 by Czar Peter the Great, and presently still comprises more than 900 specimens, a modest number of which concerns specimens with congenital anomalies. We searched for teratological clues in the existing collection and in all his descriptions and correspondence regarding specimens and cases he encountered during his career as doctor anatomiae and chief instructor of the surgeons and midwives in Amsterdam. A total of 63 teratological specimens and case descriptions were identified in this legacy, including some exceedingly rare anomalies. As it turns out, Ruysch was the first to describe several of the conditions we encountered, including intracranial teratoma, enchondromatosis, and Majewski syndrome. Although his comments pose an interesting view on how congenital anomalies were scientifically perceived in early 18th century Europe, Ruysch mostly refrained from explaining the causes of the conditions he encountered. Instead, he dedicated himself to careful descriptions of his specimens. Almost 300 years after his demise, Ruysch's legacy still impresses and inspires both scientists and lay men. © 2016 The Authors. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A Case of Sudden Death in Decameron IV.6: Aortic Dissection or Atrial Myxoma?

Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron contains a novella that details the sudden death of a young man called Gabriotto, including a portrayal of the discomfort that the protagonist experienced and a rudimentary autopsy performed by local physicians. The intriguing description of symptoms and pathologies has made it possible to read a 7-century-old case through the modern clinical lens. Thanks to the medical and philological analysis of the text-despite the vast difference between modern and medieval medicine-2 hypothetical diagnoses have emerged: either an aortic dissection or an atrial myxoma.

Myxoma valvulae arteriae pulmonalis described by Rokitansky: medicohistorical and clinicopathological aspects.

The bicentenary of the birth of Rokitansky, the first true descriptive pathologist, was celebrated in February 2004. Rokitansky gathered many and important specimens that are now displayed in the Federal Museum of Pathological Anatomy in Vienna. On examining Rokitansky's collection we found a myxoma of the pulmonary valve of a 70-year-old woman who died in 1833. Cardiac myxomas are rare but are the most frequent primary heart tumors, appearing even less frequently on cardiac valves. Modern histology has confirmed Rokitansky's diagnosis on gross pathology. The good condition of this 171-year-old specimen was surprising. Thus, Rokitansky described the myxoma 75 years before Ribbert's first description of a myxoma in this rare localization.

Clarence Crafoord and the first successful resection of a cardiac myxoma.

In 1954 Clarence Crafoord, the pioneer Swedish cardiovascular surgeon, removed an intraatrial myxoma for the first time. The patient was a 40-year-old woman with atypical symptoms of mitral stenosis. Follow-up 38 years later finds the patient alive and well. This case represents not only the first extirpation of a cardiac tumor on cardiopulmonary support but also the dawn of open cardiac surgery in Sweden. Others were soon to follow the lead of Crafoord and his team. However, their bold efforts prepared the way for the early diagnosis and facile extirpation of cardiac myxomas. Moreover, this group played an integral part in the development of safe, effective cardiopulmonary perfusion.