Toscano, F.Spani, G.Papio, M.Rühli, F.J.Galassi, F.M.2019-07-012019-07-012016Circulation Research, 2016; 119(2):187-1890009-73301524-4571http://hdl.handle.net/2440/119842Giovanni 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.en© 2016 American Heart Association, Inc.Aneurysm, DissectingJournal article003006283110.1161/CIRCRESAHA.116.3091130003795323000072-s2.0-84978123696260415Rühli, F.J. [0000-0002-1685-9106]Galassi, F.M. [0000-0001-8902-3142]