Michelangelo's eye disease

A late self-portrait of Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) in the cartoon of the Epifania in the British Museum

The scientific literature has shown that the renowned Italian Renaissance artist and genius of human anatomy Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) included his self-portrait into some of his most famous works. It has been suggested that the various self-portraits and self-caricatures the artist used in his works over the years may offer some insight into Michelangelo’s physical form and, consequently, provide evidence of his health at different stages of his life. Accordingly, this manuscript presents new evidence [based on facial features described by Daniele of Volterra (1509-1566) and Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574)] that Michelangelo may have inserted his self-portrait into one of the figures that make up the Epifania cartoon, made by the artist in 1553, which is currently in the collection of the British Museum in London, England. Thus, the information contained in this manuscript is not only useful for future analyses of Michelangelo’s health [based on facial features] when he was approximately 78 years old, but also how the artist, who was known for being very introspective, saw himself physically in his old age. (www.actabiomedica.it)

A self-caricature of michelangelo buonarroti hidden in the portrait of vittoria colonna

The specialized literature has described how the great anatomist par excellence, Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), like many other renowned artists of his time, included a self-portrait in many of his works. This article presents novel evidence that Michelangelo inserted his self-portrait into a sketch of his close friend, Vittoria Colonna (1490-1547). This work, made by Michelangelo in 1525, is currently in the collection of the British Museum in London, England. This self-portrait of Michelangelo can serve as a tool for analyzing the artist's probable bodily dimensions and even his state of health during this period of his life. Clin. Anat. 31:335-338, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Skew Deviation: Case Report and Review of the Literature

OBJECTIVE

To present a patient with a sudden onset ocular tilt reaction (OTR) and review recent knowledge and evolving insights of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of skew deviation and OTR.

METHODS

A middle-aged hypertensive man who had previously suffered stroke with good recovery presented with sudden-onset double vision, slurred speech, ataxia, and a head tilt. Romberg test was positive. The patient denied having disturbances of visual acuity, eye pain, or recent trauma. The right eyeball was pushed upward. The patient complained of double vision in any gaze direction. Movements of the extraocular muscles (EOMs) in the horizontal plane were normal, whereas vertical version and convergence were not possible. We administered a Hess-Lancaster test, cover test, fundoscopic examination, Parks-Bielschowsky three-step test, upright-supine test, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), transcranial doppler (TCD) ultrasonography, electrocardiogram (ECG), Holter monitor (24 h), and echocardiography.

RESULTS

The Hess-Lancaster test showed superior rectus muscle and inferior obliquus muscle palsy to the left and rectus inferior muscle and superior obliquus muscle palsy to the right. The right eyeball fell behind when looking downward and the left eyeball when looking upward. Cover alternating test was positive from vertical, R/L. Examination of the ocular fundus showed incyclotorsion of elevated right eye and excyclotorsion of depressed eye. The Parks-Bielschowsky three-step test was negative. A brain MRI with gadolinium revealed a small zone of diffusion restriction in the medial portion of the right cerebral peduncle and right thalamus. There was a gradual improvement in the patient's neurological status following treatment.

CONCLUSION

Skew deviation, a not uncommon clinical condition, should be promptly recognized when binocular vertical diplopia cannot be interpreted by trochlearis and oculomotor nerve lesion, myasthenia gravis, or orbital pathology. Maddox rod, cover test, Parks-Bielschowsky three-step, and other tests should help to establish the diagnosis. The prognosis depends on etiology, but it is commonly favorable; the majority of patients recover spontaneously after less than a year. More invasive management options should be discussed thereafter.

The Mystery of Michelangelo Buonarroti's Goiter

Whilst painting the vault of the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo Buonarroti left an autographical sketch that revealed a prominence at the front of his hyper-extended neck. This image was recently diagnosed as goiter. The poet Michelangelo in a sonnet dated 1509 described himself as being afflicted by goiter similarly to the cats in the northern Italian Lombardy, a region with endemic goiter. Several narratives extended this sonnet into a pathological theory. The analyses of Michelangelo's works, however, his portraits and self-portraits, of poems and major biographies, have not indicated the likelihood of goiter. This investigation makes an attempt to assess the diagnosis on clinical as well as iconographical grounds.