François Rabelais and his dystonic giants

François Rabelais e seus gigantes distônicos

Spasmodic torticollis was an early designation used for cervical dystonia. The origin of this name is attributed to French physician and writer François Rabelais in the mid-sixteenth century. This early description of torticollis in the book Pantagruel was an inspiration for the understanding of cervical dystonia. The art expressed in Rabelais’ literature - which was immortalized by the drawings of Gustave Doré - influenced poetry, art, and photography, and led to the adoption of the term torticollis in the neurological sciences.

Keywords
History of Medicine; Neurology; Movement Disorders; Dystonia; Torticollis