Learning from cases: Analysis of two cases of craniopharyngioma from the 19 th to the 21 st centuries

F1000Res. 2019 Aug 30:8:1544. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.19626.1. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

This manuscript describes the study of two cases of craniopharyngioma, which have been examined repeatedly over three separate centuries. This includes analysis by Josef Engel in 1839, who sought to uncover the physiological role of the pituitary gland; Jacob Erdheim in 1904, who initially described the disease we now call craniopharyngioma, and recent high resolution MRI and micro-CT imaging and attempted DNA analyses of the tumours. The cases highlight how, rightly or wrongly, our interpretation of data is shaped by the technologies, methodologies and prevailing theories of a given time.

Keywords: Craniopharyngiooma; Engel; Erdheim; historical; micro-CT.

Publication types

  • Historical Article
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Craniopharyngioma* / diagnosis
  • Craniopharyngioma* / history
  • History, 19th Century
  • History, 20th Century
  • History, 21st Century
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Pituitary Neoplasms* / diagnosis
  • Pituitary Neoplasms* / history

Associated data

  • figshare/10.6084/m9.figshare.9724343.v2
  • figshare/10.6084/m9.figshare.9724703.v3