Leeches for the unfortunate locksmith: self-inflicted posttraumatic transient cerebral blindness--mode of treatment and underlying mechanism (1826).

Abstract

In 1826, Jean-Pierre Gama, a French military surgeon, treated a young locksmith who had self-inflicted posttraumatic transient cortical blindness. This may be the earliest detailed, firsthand description of this condition by a medically and scientifically trained observer. Gama's report sheds light on the concept of the mechanism of coup-contrecoup of cerebral concussion and its treatment in the early 19th century and on the germinating discipline of cerebral localization.