Dante, Neurologist and Neuroanatomist Evidence from the Divine Comedy

This chapter investigates the occurrence and value of neurological and neuroanatomical references in Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy providing a historical-medical and palaeopathological interpretative perspective. Among the described conditions, epilepsy, palsy, and torticollis can be identified. The poet’s verses offer sufficiently precise insights into the anatomy of the brainstem and spinal cord, as well as a basic understanding of physiologic responses such as the fight-or-flight response. The information contained in the poem is analysed in the light of contemporary medical knowledge and the history of medicine.