“Somewhere in La Mancha, in a place whose name I don’t want to remember” is one of the most famous beginnings of all books. You would be surprised to learn that the 17th century English physician Thomas Sydenham advised the poet and royal physician Richard Blackmore that in order to learn medicine, he should read this immortal book. And this is because, in addition to the famous madness of its protagonist, in its pages there is abundant medical knowledge.
Thus, the doctor Tomás Sydenham (1624 – 1689), nicknamed “the English Hippocrates”, recommended reading Don Quixote to all who wanted to learn medicine. Not in vain its author, Miguel de Cervantes, was the son of a doctor and surgeon and showed his knowledge throughout the novel.
Thus, in Don Quixote, among other pathologies, he describes renal lithiasis (“He girded his good sword that hung from a sea lion baldric; it is the opinion that for many years he suffered from kidney disease.”). He refers to malaria or malaria with the expression “quartan cold.” He also talks about the lesions caused by smallpox (“[…] he is missing that eye that came out with smallpox, and although the holes in his face are many and large […]”). Or from “quicksilver” or intoxication with mercury (quicksilver) by contact or as a treatment for syphilis, which produced strong tremors.
And there are many mentions of colds and respiratory diseases, eating disorders, mental health problems, trauma, pregnancy and menopause, and so on .
Don Quixote de la Mancha, considered one of the most important and influential works of modern Western prose, contains many references of interest to almost all medical specialties. In this sense, numerous references to neurology can be found in the work of Miguel de Cervantes. Scattered neurological phenomena are described throughout the novel, including tremors, sleep disturbances, neuropsychiatric symptoms, dementia, epilepsy, paralysis, stroke, syncope, head trauma, and headache . A study published in 2007 in the British Medical Journal linked these symptoms to descriptions of those conditions in the medical literature of the time. They reviewed Cervantes’ sources of neurological information, including works by renowned Spanish authors such as Juan Huarte de San Juan, Dionisio Daza Chacón, and Juan Valverde de Amusco, and hypothesized that Don Quixote’s disorder was actually a neurological condition. Although Cervantes wrote it many centuries ago, Don Quixote contains many references to neurology, and many of the ideas and concepts reflected in it remain of interest.
Let us remember that Miguel de Cervantes was writing at the same time as William Shakespeare. At the beginning of the 17th century, Spain was going through a particularly dark period in which the Inquisition made sure that scientific ideas from the rest of Europe were not allowed to enter. While in Flanders Vesalius was developing new anatomical and surgical concepts, in Spain physicians continued to use primitive techniques such as purges, bleeding, and hot packs. In general, the public was skeptical of the medical profession and other contemporary writers wrote very harshly about doctors. Cervantes was always fair in this regard, praising the good practice of medicine while criticizing what he saw as irresponsible actions: “There are doctors who, after killing the sick they treat, still want to be paid after his job, which is nothing more than signing a prescription for some medicine. “
This impartial attitude towards the profession, together with his extensive knowledge of medicine, has given rise to several hypotheses, some even suggesting that Cervantes was a doctor. However, what is known is that his father was a barber surgeon and the young Cervantes was probably expected to continue his father’s trade. Barber surgeons, lower in rank than doctors, gave enemas, sold salves, and pulled teeth. Witnessing these practices and reading his father’s books, combined with his immense ability as an observer, no doubt contributed to his masterful descriptions.
It is not surprising that the novel influenced famous doctors such as Freud and Santiago Ramón y Cajal.
