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[Acute pain in "Don Quixote"].
J R Fraile1, A de Miguel, A Yuste
1Servicio de Anestesiología, Hospital Gregorio Marañón, Doctor Esquerdo, 46, 28007 Madrid.
Revista Espanola De Anestesiologia Y Reanimacion
|October 14, 2003
Summary
This study analyzed pain descriptions in Don Quixote, finding they were literary rather than clinical. While credible for the era, the pain symptoms and remedies discussed touch on timeless themes like pain sensitivity and the placebo effect.
Area of Science:
- Literary analysis of medical descriptions.
- Linguistic study of pain terminology in classic literature.
Context:
- Don Quixote contains numerous references to injuries and illnesses.
- Understanding historical literary depictions of pain offers insight into societal views and medical knowledge of the time.
Purpose:
- To conduct a descriptive analysis of pain symptom references in Cervantes' Don Quixote.
- To examine these references through linguistic, literary, clinical, and mannerist lenses.
Summary:
- Analysis of Don Quixote identified 37 entries referencing pain, primarily from injuries, using terms related to 'dolor' (pain) and 'molido' (severe injury).
- Descriptions included patient, injury details, period-specific remedies (both known and invented), and associated disorders like insomnia and melancholy.
- Recovery times varied from 0 to 8 days, with pain descriptions deemed credible for the period but not meeting modern clinical standards.
Impact:
- The study highlights how literary context influences the portrayal of pain.
- It reveals that historical texts, like Don Quixote, address themes relevant to modern pain research, including pain perception, social factors, placebo effects, and psychological comorbidities.