The History of Pseudotumor Cerebri Syndrome among “Courses” and “Recourses”

The disease nowmost frequently referred to as pseudotumor cerebri syndrome (PTCS), according to the most recent diagnostic criteria,1 has been known by various names since its first clinical descriptions: pseudotumor cerebri, benign intracranial hypertension (BIH), and idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH).2 These terms were introduced, respectively, by Nonne,3 Foley,4 and Buchheit et al.5 The variation in nomenclature reflects the unclear etiology of this syndrome. From a historical point of view, the initial recognition of the disease depended on the following two critical steps: (1) invention of the ophthalmoscope by von Helmholtz in 18516 and its application in medical practice and (2) introduction by Quincke7 of lumbar puncture, a technique that finally lead to rigorous measurement of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure.