[Niccolo Paganini: medical aspects of his life and work]

Niccolo Paganini is the most virtuous violinist of the history of music. He even received the nick name of "the violinist of the evil" for his outstanding skills on stage performance. It has been suggested that he had syphilis and tuberculosis, the commonest diseases of that time, but this hypothesis remains speculative. There are suggestions that he was the victim of iatrogenic mercurial poisoning. Furthermore, his body build suggests the presence of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome which could give him special anatomical conditions allowing him to achieve an amazing level of vírtuousness in his art. We herein review the medical aspects of this brilliant musician's life.