Abstract
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) complained of several disorders during his life, the most important of which were chronic arthritic pains and bilateral blindness. These symptoms might be results from an immune rheumatic disease, namely reactive arthritis (urethritis, uveitis, arthritis), when Galileo started suffering with an episode of fever in June 1593. Padua University owns the fifth lumbar vertebra of the great scientist and we performed a series of anthropological and radiographic analyses on it. The anthropological measurements showed that the shape of the vertebra was normal as to exclude significant diseases. The study through radiography and Computed Tomography showed only a mild arthrosis documented by small osteophytosis. Eventually the disease evolved into blindness with a pannus restricting the pupils (uveitis). These findings support the occurrence of reactive arthritis. Alternatively to urethral infection, Galileo could have suffered from Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in 1593, which was complicated by reactive arthritis a couple of weeks later. Thereafter he complained several episodes of recurrent arthritis, which eventually culminated into uveitis and bilateral blindness.
Highlights
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) suffered during his life of several diseases
Given the historical reports of Galileo’s symptoms and our hypothesis that he might have suffered from reactive arthritis, a study of his vertebra could yield new insight into the pathologies that affected him during his life
Alternatively to urethral infection, suspicion of which arises from some letters, we may postulate that Galileo had a Chlamydia pneumoniae infection at the Wind Room in Costozza in 1593, which was complicated by reactive arthritis a couple of weeks later
Summary
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) suffered during his life of several diseases His clinical history, as it turns out from hundred letters he wrote and received, is so informative as to make it possible to delineate the natural history of his body (Favaro, 1966; Del Lungo & Favaro, 1968; Galilei, 1890-1909). As it turns out from hundred letters he wrote and received, is so informative as to make it possible to delineate the natural history of his body (Favaro, 1966; Del Lungo & Favaro, 1968; Galilei, 1890-1909) He complained about disorders related to rheumatism, kidney stones, haemorrhoids, inguinal hernia, arrhythmias, insomnia and melancholy. We will advance a new diagnostic hypothesis of a correlation between these two diseases
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