History of Carotid Occlusions: The Contribution of Egas Moniz

To describe the first cases of carotid occlusions identified by the Portuguese neurologist Egas Moniz while performing the cerebral angiography he invented.

We reviewed the publications of Egas Moniz on the subject of cerebral angiography and ischemic stroke.

We identified the first description of carotid occlusion a situation unknown until then. Also, some of the carotid occlusions he described were suggestive of dissection an unknown situation. Nevertheless, he admitted the role of trauma in such cases by lesioning the intimal layer and he also described the characteristic post-bulbar "bezel-like" image of dissection.

In 1936 Egas Moniz described, for the first time, one case of carotid occlusion a situation unknown until then. He also described some of the characteristic aspects of carotid dissections. Carotid occlusions were only thoroughly described in English literature more than a decade later with the well-known work of Miller Fisher, in 1951.