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Partial cranial trephination by means of Hippocrates' trypanon from 5th century BC Himera (Sicily, Italy)

2010; Wiley; Volume: 22; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/oa.1197

1099-1212

Pf Fabbri, Norma Lonoce, Maurizio Masieri, Davide Caramella, Matteo Valentino, Sylvie Vassallo,

History of Medicine Studies

Abstract The paper deals with a new case of partial cranial trephination found in one of the necropolises of the Greek colony of Himera in Sicily. It is one of the very few cases of cranial trephination of Greek classical age. Macroscopic as well as radiological investigations prove that the operation was perimortal as no growth of new bone could be detected, SEM‐EDS microanalysis of the piece revealed the traces left by the tool used during trephination. The review of ancient Greek and Latin medical and surgical texts permitted us to establish that the tool used in Himera was a ( trypanon ) mentioned by Hippocrates and named terebra by Latin authors. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.