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Joseph C. Masdeu, MD, PhD

Arch Neurol. 2000;57:892-895.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

EARLY DESCRIPTIONS OF APHASIC SYNDROMES

The anatomical correlates of aphasia were delineated in the 19th century, but clinical descriptions of the classical aphasic syndromes antedate this period. The oldest recorded text on aphasia reeks with modernity: it contains a practice guideline with advice to withhold treatment. On the Edwin Smith¹ papyrus (Case 20) from the Pyramid Age (about 3000-2500 BC) (Figure 1) an Egyptian surgeon wrote:

Figure appears in full text version. Figure 1. Column 8 of the Edwin Smith surgical papyrus. Account of patient's inability to speak. The top 2 lines contain the original text, the bottom 2 lines, the hieroglyphic transliteration. Egyptian, estimated 3000-2500 BC.1

If thou examinest a man having a wound in his temple, penetrating to the bone, [and] perforating his temporal bone;. . . if thou ask of him concerning his malady and he speak not to thee; while copious tears fall from both his eyes, so that he . . . [Full Text of this Article]