About the right facial palsy of Charles Bell: was Sir Charles Bell himself really affected by facial paralysis? - Comment on 'peripheral facial palsy in the past. Contributions from Avicenna, Nicolaus Friedreich and Charles Bell'

Peripheral facial palsy in the past: contributions from Avicenna, Nicolaus Friedreich and Charles Bell.

This study provides historical documents of peripheral facial palsy from Egypt, Greece and Rome, through the middle ages, and the renaissance, and into the last four centuries. We believe that the history of peripheral facial palsy parallels history of the human race itself. Emphasis is made on contributions by Avicenna and Nicolaus Friedreich. Controversies about the original clinical descript...

Sir Charles Bell was not affected by facial paralysis himself!

Despite our recent commentary on the article by Resende and Weber, the authors still seem to believe that Sir Charles Bell (1774-1842) himself was affected by facial paralysis. They came to this erroneous conclusion from a paper by Jongkees and by “neurological examination of the photograph of Sir Charles Bell” (Fig 1). However, had they taken the effort to check Jongkees’ German translation wi...

Survey of methods of facial palsy documentation in use by members of the Sir Charles Bell Society.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS Facial palsy manifests a broad array of deficits affecting function, form, and psychological well-being. Assessment scales were introduced to standardize and document the features of facial palsy and to facilitate the exchange of information and comparison of outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine which assessment methodologies are currently employed by those inv...

Sir Charles Bell and the Mysteries of the Brain

The heart and the brain had for thousands of years been considered the "noble" organs, organs shrouded in the deepest of mysteries, highly organized masses of tissues properly hidden from man's prying eyes and curious fingers. They were not to be touched under any circumstances ; they held the secrets of life and death and for that reason were sacred in the sight of God. So it was that for two ...

Sir Charles Bell: The artist who went to the roots!