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Dante Alighieri (1265-1321): an "infernal" endocrinological observation
Piergiorgio Mandarano1, Graziella Masciangelo1, Emanuele Armocida2,3
1Universita Degli Studi Di Parma, Parma, Italy.
Abstract:
The year 2021 marks the 700th anniversary of Dante's death. Is it appropriate to celebrate this anniversary in a journal of endocrinology? The answer is yes-the motivation for this being found in the giants that Dante, in his Divine Comedy, places around the well that divides Circle 8 from Circle 9 of Hell. The "Supreme Poet" describes one of the giants (Nimrod, a Biblical character) as having a large and elongated face with a body of gargantuan proportions. Such a description immediately calls to mind the characteristics of acromegalic prognathism, the huge stature being the most pathognomonic aspect. Is it possible that the sharp eye of Dante had observed such a feature in people affected by actual gigantism?