Abstract Details

Title Sympathy, Sympathetic. Evolution of a Concept and Relevance to Current Understanding of Autonomic Disorders

Topic History of Neurology

Presentation(s) S57 - (-)

Poster/Presentation
Number 005

Objective

Background Cosmic sympathy (Gr. Sympatheia) was at first used by Plato and the Stoic philosophers to express the idea of a universal connection between all living organisms. The term sympathetic however is currently used to indicate a part of the nervous system.

Design/Methods We reviewed the history of the discovery of the autonomic nervous system. After identifying original text sources, we specifically focused on the history of the discovery of the sympathetic nervous system in relationship to the concept of sympathy.

Results Even though sympathy was understood by Hippocrates, it was Galen who introduced it to medicine in order to understand how the central nervous system communicates with the viscera. Early on the anatomic distributor for sympathy was believed to be the ganglionated paravertebral chain. From here on the history of the concept of sympathy is intimately related to our evolving understanding of the function of these ganglia. The idea that the ganglia may be independent of the central nervous system allowed Winslow to name them sympathetic nerves. This allowed the word sympathy to be connected with the nervous system until today. The sympathetic nervous system was later named vegetative by Reil. Separation of vagal from a seemingly antagonistic sympathetic innervation was the basis of the concept of the autonomic nervous system by Langley. Sympathetic innervation was further defined after pharmacological dissection of its neurotransmitters. The better part of the 20th century brought to light the central sympathetic centers and their function.

Conclusions We believe that the concept of sympathy, despite multiple refinements over time, has retained its original meaning: specifically symptoms are not always organ centered but may be the result of abnormal autonomic control and that malfunction of one organ has implications on the body as a whole.

Authors/Disclosures
Alexandru C. Barboi, MD (IU Health Neuroscience Center) PRESENTER	Dr. Barboi has nothing to disclose.
	No disclosure on file

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