In the latest in our series looking at potential medical issues in famous works of art, Dr Keith Hopcroft considers a painting by Sir Charles Bell, the surgeon and artist who gave his name to ‘Bell’s Palsy’
What is going on in this picture and what has caused it?
Hint: the answer will make you grateful for the UK vaccination programme.
Answer below! You may also wish to look at the other pieces in this series:
Spotting pathology in art: ‘The Ugly Duchess’
Spotting pathology in art: realist painting of a woman in a field
Spotting pathology in art: 17th-Century Portrait of a Woman
Spotting pathology in art: Self portrait by Dutch magic realist
Spotting pathology in the Mona Lisa
Answer: this painting depicts ‘opisthotonus’, an arching of the back caused by spasm of the extensor muscles and a feature of tetanus. This was painted by Charles Bell, who was a surgeon, military historian and artist – who gave his name to ‘Bell’s palsy’ – and shows a tetanus infected soldier. A bonus point for a differential: strychnine poisoning – the picture was used to illustrate an article on this subject in the National Library for Health’s ‘Stat Pearls’
Dr Keith Hopcroft is Pulse’s medical adviser and a GP in Basildon, Essex
What exactly does a ‘medical advisor’ at PULSE actually do, apart from set quizzes and wander around ‘art galleries’?————and by the way, I got this one right
Is Dr Munro looking for a job at Pulse ?
I want to know how we know it was a soldier. Were sick soldiers always nursed naked if they had long hair?
It is from Charles Bell’s series of paintings titled ‘The Wounded following the Battle of Corunna’ depicting wounded soldiers on their return to Portsmouth from the Iberian Peninsula after a battle with the French. The majority of the paintings depict gunshot wounds.
Let’s hope it is not a depiction of a GP on July 4th on hearing that the Conservatives have won the election