Τίτλος:
The ear and its malformations: strange beliefs and misconceptions
Γλώσσες Τεκμηρίου:
Αγγλικά
Περίληψη:
Objective. To explore the strange beliefs and misconceptions related to
the ear and its malformations, and how these have changed from ancient
times until today.
Methods. Ancient documents, journal articles, and history books were
studied to research ancient and current beliefs and misconceptions with
regard to the ear and its malformations.
Results. The ear has been the centre of various beliefs and
misconceptions through human history. Discoveries in the area of Assyria
and Babylonia have revealed that the inhabitants of these countries not
only had documented various congenital dysplasias of the ear but also
they believed that these malformations had prophetical meaning and
implied hereditary disorders. These observations and prophecies may very
well have their origin to the 4th millennium BC. Egyptian and
Greek-Roman medicine had suggested strange connections of the ear with
close or remote parts of the human body and similar beliefs can be found
through the later centuries. Hebrew and Greek-Byzantine conceptions of
the perfect appearance that priests or kings should have, led to
exclusion of people who had congenital ear malformations and even to
mutilation (cutting off the ears) as a method of punishment.
Conclusion. The present study illustrates the wide variety and the long
history of misconceptions related to children born with congenital
malformations of the pinna and the external ear canal. These
misconceptions may have led to a conscious and subconscious anxiety and
pressure from parents and patients to ENT and plastic surgeons to
correct the ear malformations as soon as possible in order to avoid
psychological and social problems. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier Ltd on
behalf of The British Association of Plastic Surgeons. All rights
reserved.
Συγγραφείς:
Gamatsi, IE
Nikolopoulos, TP
Lioumi, DE
Περιοδικό:
British Journal of Plastic Surgery
Εκδότης:
Churchill Livingstone
Λέξεις-κλειδιά:
ear; pinna; malformations; dysplasia; aplasia; auricle reconstruction;
history; beliefs; misconceptions
DOI:
10.1016/S0007-1226(03)00192-9
