Mythology and Neurosurgery

• Published in: World neurosurgery 2016-06, Vol.90, p.315-321
• Main Author: Ökten, Ali Ihsan, M.D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Brain Diseases - history; Greek World - history; History, Ancient; History, Medieval; Humans; Medicine in the Arts; Mythology; Neurosurgery; Neurosurgery - history; Neurosurgical Procedures - history
• ISSN: 1878-8750; 1878-8769
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2016.02.106

Abstract Myths are the keystone of mythology. They are interpretations of events that have been told as stories and legends for thousands of years, inherited from generation to generation, and have reached the present day. Although most myths are considered figments of the imagination or fictitious legends, all of them contain references to facts from the time they occurred. Mythology, which is a collection of figments of imagination concerning nature and human beings, is a product of human effort to perceive, explain, and interpret the universe and the world, much like science. The interaction between mythology and science dates back to the early days of civilization. Mythology, a reflection of human creativity, is extensively used in today's science, particularly in a terminological context. This article aims to reveal the texture of mythology in neurosurgery, by analyzing the birth of medicine in mythology; heroes such as Apollo and Asklepios, the gods of healing and medicine, as well as Hygieia, the goddess of health and hygiene; and mythological terms and phrases such as Achilles tendon, atlas vertebra, gigantism, priapism syndrome, hippocampus, lethargy, syrinx, and arachnoid. In conclusion, through the use of symbols, mythology has attempted to explain several subjects, such as human nature, disease, birth, and death. In this respect, mythology and medicine dance arm in arm, and this dance has been going on for centuries. As a result, mythology has manifested itself in many fields within medicine, either anatomically or by giving names to various diseases.