Venae spermaticae post aures: The early modern angiology-neurology of virility.
Saved in:
| Title: | Venae spermaticae post aures: The early modern angiology-neurology of virility. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Janssen, Diederik F. (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Journal of the History of the Neurosciences. Jul-Sep2023, Vol. 32 Issue 3, p357-372. 16p. |
| Subjects: | Hippocrates, ca. 460 B.C.-370 B.C., Galen, 129-ca. 216, Modern history, Masculinity, Sixteenth century, Spermatogenesis, Impotence, Afterlife, Enlightenment, Eighteenth century |
| Abstract: | The famous discussion of Scythian cross-dressers in Hippocrates' Airs Waters Places (Aer.) 22 puzzled perhaps most medieval and Renaissance medical authorities. The text wrestled with a pre-Hippocratic, encephalocentric theory of spermatogenesis. Modern reception of the convoluted hypothesis put forward here gradually distilled three etiologies of failing virility: impotence, subfertility, and unmanliness. A gradual shift is discernable from increasingly Galenic neuro-andrological theories (sixteenth century) to neuropsychiatric (late-seventeenth through eighteenth century), phrenological and psychopathological (early- and late-nineteenth century), and finally early psycho-endocrinological (early-twentieth century) ideas about masculinity. Aer. 22 was a ubiquitously recurring reference across all of these episodes, indeed well beyond medicine, rendering it a highly sensitive index of change in neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric thinking. The pre-Enlightenment, neurology-centric onset of this extended modern history of sexual/gender medicine is briefly discussed, as well as its phrenological afterlife. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of the History of the Neurosciences is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
|
Full text is not displayed to guests.
Login for full access.
|
|
Be the first to leave a comment!
