Laqve (wry mouth) considered in Avicenna's renowned treatise the Canon of Medicine

• Published in: Neurocirugía (Asturias, Spain) Vol. 19; no. 3; pp. 267 - 271
• Main Authors: Aciduman, A, Gunaydin, A, Arda, B, Belen, D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Spain Elsevier España 01.06.2008; Sociedad Española de Neurocirugía
• Subjects: Avicena; Avicenna; Facial paralysis; Facial Paralysis - diagnosis; Facial Paralysis - pathology; Facial Paralysis - therapy; Historia Neurocirugía; History of neurosurgery; History, Medieval; Humans; Laqve; Manuscripts, Medical as Topic; Medicine, Arabic - history; Mouth - innervation; Neurosurgery; Parálisis facial; Physicians; Avicenna; Historia Neurocirugía; Laqve; Facial paralysis; Parálisis facial; History of neurosurgery; Avicena
• ISSN: 1130-1473
• DOI: 10.1016/S1130-1473(08)70232-X

Summary Hemi-facial spasm, facial paralysis, and trigeminal neuralgia are prevailing signs and symptoms with which physicians have been coping for thousands of years. Ibn Sina (known as Avicenna in the West), who was among the leading figures during medieval ages and influenced the upcoming periods in the Eastern and Western hemispheres for long time, focused also on these crucial problems. In his principal medical work, the Canon of Medicine, Avicenna underlined the significance of wry mouth-related disorders and wrote a precise chapter over this topic with the heading “Laqve.” However, the term “laqve” is usually accepted only as facial paralysis in most of historical texts. Further detailed analysis of the text reveals that, all the abovementioned signs and symptoms are considered under the same heading. Therefore, the descriptions articulated by famous physician Avicenna pose great merit from the point of historical view of neurological sciences. The main aim of this article is to reintroduce essential parts of the text by adding comments over specific descriptions, and consequently, to make the text more comprehensible for today's scientists.