Phantom Limb: From Medical Knowledge to Folk Wisdom and Back
Authors: Joseph Herman
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1998)

Medical Writings1 January 1998Phantom Limb: From Medical Knowledge to Folk Wisdom and BackJoseph Herman, MDJoseph Herman, MDAssia Community Health Centre; Netivot 80200, Israel.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-128-1-199801010-00029 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Whenever a disorder is newly recognized or reclaimed from oblivion after a long period of neglect, the question arises as to why it was not noticed earlier. If physicians of the caliber of Galen, Paracelsus, and Sydenham could report in detail on gout and migraine, why did they not describe angina pectoris [1]? Could myocardial infarction have been new when Herrick called attention to it, or has it always been with us, merely undergoing a sharp increase in incidence in part because of the disappearance of competing causes of death in Herrick's time and locale [2]?Disease is a noumenal ...References1. Michaels L. Aetiology of coronary artery disease: an historical approach. Br Heart J. 1966; 28:258-64. Google Scholar2. Sprague HB. Environment in relation to coronary artery disease. Arch Environ Health. 1966; 13:4-12. Google Scholar3. The Columbia Encyclopedia. 5th ed. New York: Columbia Univ Pr; 1993:1975. Google Scholar4. Engel GL. Sudden and rapid death during psychological stress. Folklore or folk wisdom? Ann Intern Med. 1971; 74:771-82. Google Scholar5. Mitchell SW. Phantom limbs. Lippincott's Mag Popular Literature & Science. 1871;8:563-9. Google Scholar6. Gallinek A. The phantom limb: its origins and its relationship to the hallucination of psychotic states. 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Google Scholar15. Taylor J, ed. Selected Writings of John Hughlings Jackson. New York: Basic Books; 1958. Google Scholar16. Jensen TS, Krebs B, Nielsen J, Rasmussen P. Immediate and long-term phantom limb pain in amputees: incidence, clinical characteristics and relationships to pre-amputation limb pain. Pain. 1985; 21:267-78. Google Scholar17. Sherman RA, Arena JG, Sherman CJ, Ernst JL. The mystery of phantom pain: growing evidence for psycho-physiological mechanisms. Biofeedback Self Regul. 1989; 14:267-80. Google Scholar18. Katz J. Psychophysical correlates of phantom limb experience. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1992; 55:811-21. Google Scholar19. Nikolajsen L, Hansen CL, Nielsen J, Keller J, Arendt-Nielsen L, Jensen TS. The effect of ketamine on phantom pain: a central neuropathic disorder maintained by peripheral input. Pain. 1996; 67:69-77. Google Scholar20. Wasserstein AG. Toward a romantic science: the work of Oliver Sacks. Ann Intern Med. 1988; 109:440-4. Google Scholar21. Melzack R. Phantom limbs. Sci Am. 1992; 266:120-6. Google Scholar22. Henderson WR, Smyth GE. Phantom limbs. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1948; 11:88-112. Google Scholar23. Strong JP. Landmark perspective: coronary atherosclerosis in soldiers. A clue to the natural history of atherosclerosis in the young. JAMA. 1986; 256:2863-6. Google Scholar24. Herman J. An instance of sleep paralysis in Moby-Dick. Sleep. 1997; 20:577-9. Google Scholar25. Burr AR. Weir Mitchell: His Life and Letters. New York: Duffield; 1929. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Joseph Herman, MDAffiliations: Assia Community Health Centre; Netivot 80200, Israel.Corresponding Author: Joseph Herman, MD, 24 Megadim Street, Y'fe Nof 96185, Jerusalem, Israel. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byPhantom phenomena and body scheme after limb amputation: A literature review'You don't need a body to feel a body': phantom limb syndrome and corporeal transgressionFrom pleasure to pain: The role of the MPQ in the language of phantom limb painThe phantom limb in dreamsDoubtful Arms and Phantom Limbs: Literary Portrayals of Embodied GriefFive Early Accounts of Phantom Limb in Context: Paré, Descartes, Lemos, Bell, and MitchellPhantom limb: from Paré to Moby DickPhantom limbs: The body in mindPhantom SmellingPHANTOM SMELLINGNeurophysiological processes underlying the phantom limb pain experience and the use of hypnosis in its clinical management: An intensive examination of two patientsCalcitonin in Phantom Limb Pain 1 January 1998Volume 128, Issue 1Page: 76-78KeywordsNervesNeurologyNociceptorsSleepSpinal cordSuicideSurgeonsSurgerySympathetic nervous systemWalking ePublished: 15 August 2000 Issue Published: 1 January 1998 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 1998 by American College of Physicians. 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