A case of sudden death in Decameron IV.6: aortic dissection or atrial myxoma?

Date

2016

Authors

Toscano, F.
Spani, G.
Papio, M.
Rühli, F.J.
Galassi, F.M.

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Journal article

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Circulation Research, 2016; 119(2):187-189

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Fabrizio Toscano, Giovanni Spani, Michael Papio, Frank J. Rühli, Francesco M. Galassi

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Abstract

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.

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© 2016 American Heart Association, Inc.

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