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PubMed1981

[Mythology of alcohol drinking].

The social order relies on a whole of standards and requires the conformity of the individuals to his models. The consumers of alcohol - alcoholized people - either stay in the order which makes pressure on them to bring them to consume still staying within the standards of consumption according to a process of which the works stay unknown, either drift progressively towards marginality and subversion. Their behaviour is described as a "disease", description which works as a myth as well as a reality, the perception and description of the treatment supposed to be opposed to it acts on the same manner. The consumption of alcohol - alcoholization - can be understood as a social doing which testifies the adhesion to the standard and/or a personal doing in view of a research of psychotropy. Alcoholism announces itself when the alcoholization is perceived by the Other as a deviation and an existential tactical. It is not a clinic diagnosis as one may let believe, but a stigma, a label, even a judgment over a scandal. And then begins the misfortune to the one by whom the scandal arises.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1993

The mythology of povidone-iodine and the development of self-sterilizing plastics.

The predominance of elemental iodine as a chemical antiseptic has been established during a century. Free iodine is effective for treatment and prevention of infection. Iodophors, such as povidone-iodine, have replaced elemental iodine in clinical use. Toxic absorption of povidone-iodine occurs from all tissues except intact adult skin, to which its use should be restricted. Povidone-iodine binds iodine so firmly that insufficient free iodine is released to be effective for treating or preventing infection. It is a weak antiseptic that is marginally acceptable as a disinfectant for adult skin. The shortcomings of povidone-iodine stimulated a search for iodophors that would liberate therapeutically effective concentrations of free iodine. These investigations led to a new self-sterilizing plastic formed by the complexing of polyurethane and iodine.

Anti-Infective Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sarcoidosis mythology.

BACKGROUND: Sarcoidosis continues to be shrouded by anecdotal misinformation which has gained credence by repetition. These myths have been developing for the past 50 years and continue to accumulate, despite remedial data. Among the most egregious myths are that sarcoidosis is a disease of Blacks, that the chest radiography is diagnostic of sarcoidosis, and has chronologic significance, that serum angiotensin converting enzyme and bronchoalveolar lavage are diagnostic of sarcoidosis and serve as guides to therapy, that the Kveim-Siltzbach test is not a reliable diagnostic test for sarcoidosis, that sarcoidosis is difficult to diagnose, and that sarcoidosis is tuberculosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: The literature regarding these myths has been reviewed and supported by the experience with more than 10,000 patients with sarcoidosis who have been treated at Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York. CONCLUSIONS: Sarcoidosis occurs with varying frequency among all races. The chest radiograph typical of sarcoidosis can be mimicked by other granulomatous and neoplastic diseases. The classic radiographic stages, from 0 to 111, do not reflect the time course of sarcoidosis can be made relatively easily in most patients, but its etiology is still unknown.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1994

The technocratic body: American childbirth as cultural expression.

The dominant mythology of a culture is often displayed in the rituals with which it surrounds birth. In contemporary Western society, that mythology--the mythology of the technocracy--is enacted through obstetrical procedures, the rituals of hospital birth. This article explores the links between our culture's mythological technocratic model of birth and the body images, individual belief and value systems, and birth choices of forty middle-class women--32 professional women who accept the technocratic paradigm, and eight homebirthers who reject it. The conceptual separation of mother and child is fundamental to technocratic notions of parenthood, and constitutes a logical corollary of the Cartesian mind-body separation that has been fundamental to the development of both industrial society and post-industrial technocracy. The professionals' body images and lifestyles express these principles of separation, while the holistic ideology of the homebirthers stresses mind-body and parent-child integration. The conclusion considers the ideological hegemony of the technocratic paradigm as potential future-shaper.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1994

The foundations of Judaism: psychoanalytic interpretations.

The psychological foundations of Judaism are a major challenge to psychoanalytic theory. This (selective) literature review focuses on post-Freudian work on this question. Freud described Judaism as a father religion, within the Oedipal framework of all religions and cultures. Over the years other notions have become dominant, and we can observe the changes from the Oedipal to the pre-Oedipal and towards more attention to maternal projections. Jewish mythology is a major topic, and the attention given to it bears no relation to its role in living Judaism. Many psychoanalytic contributions which aim at interpreting Judaic mythology demonstrate mostly their authors' inability to separate mythological narratives and history, as they accept without criticism the biblical account of supposedly ancient events, and then continue with speculations about mythological personages and events. The literature we have reviewed is certainly psychoanalytic, but one question is its relationship to Freud's work on religion. What emerges is that in many cases there is no attempt to follow Freud in the sense of accepting his assertions, but there is continuity in terms of interpretive temperament. Freud's writings have served as stimulus and inspiration, not as dogma to be upheld.

Bible↗
PubMed2004

The pipes of pan.

The pipes of pan is the crowning achievement of Pablo Picasso's neoclassical period of the 1920s. This monumental canvas depicts a mythological Mediterranean scene in which two sculpted classical giants stare out, seemingly across the centuries, toward a distant and lost Arcadia. Picasso was influenced by Greco-Roman art during his travels in Italy, and his neoclassical works typically portray massive, immobile, and pensive figures. Pan and his pipes are taken directly from Greek mythological lore by Picasso and placed directly into 20th century art. He frequently turned to various mythological figures throughout his metamorphosing periods. The Pipes of Pan was also influenced by the painter's infatuation with the beautiful American expatriate Sara Murphy, and the finished masterpiece represents a revision of a previously conceived neoclassical work. The Pipes of Pan now hangs in the Musee Picasso in Paris.

Famous Persons↗
PubMed1999

From Horus the child to Hephaestus who limps: a romp through history.

The question of why Hephaestus, the Greek god of smiths, limped has been the subject of much debate, mainly on mythological grounds. This debate extended also into the field of medical diagnosis, with attempts at defining the nature of the deformity that made the crippled Hephaestus the buffoon of the other Olympic gods. One problem encountered in these debates was the changes to which the ugly young Hephaestus was subjected with the passing of time-from a limping deformed youth to the later dignified and normal man. While some authors, largely influenced by poetic Greek texts and vase paintings, attributed the limp to talipes (club-feet), others pointed to certain features suggestive of achondroplasia. Since the image of the early Hephaestus is based mainly on the much earlier concept of the Egyptian god Ptah, who as the triune god of the resurrection sometimes is depicted as an achondroplastic dwarf (Ptah-Pataikos), the suggestion of the possible achondroplastic dwarf-like nature of the early Hephaestus is not implausible. It is supported by similarities in the image of Hephaestus to some features in other Egyptian gods, such as the domestic god Bes, the guardian of the new-born, and the Horus the Child or Harpocrates (Greek), yet another protector of youth and "the symbol of everything that is young and vigorous" [Budge, 1969: The Gods of the Egyptians, or Studies in Egyptian Mythology. Volume I.]. The characteristic feature of this child-god is the "lock of Harpocrates" on the right side of his head. That this lock can sometimes also be seen not only on the head of Ptah-Pataikos and of Bes but also on the young Hephaestus is highly suggestive of the Egyptian influence on his image. Recently, however, another interesting explanation of Hephaestus's limp has been suggested that may explain why the Egyptian influenced image of the early achondroplastic Hephaestus changed to the later, more Grecian view of the smith-god who hobbled because of club-feet. Improvements in composition-analysis of samples from antique statues and various utensils have led to the suggestion that the introduction of new smelting techniques in antique times may have exposed ancient metal workers to the effects of various toxic metals causing, for instance, chronic lead poisoning or, more relevant here, chronic arsenic poisoning causing peripheral neuritis with weakness and lameness of one or both lower extremities. Later changes in smelting technique, and recognition or guess-work of a possible connection between these techniques and toxic effects, may explain the change from the buffoon-like achondroplastic walk to the club-footed limp and eventual normal behaviour of Hephaestus, the Smith. In other words: Did Hephaestus limp because of his arsen-neuritis?

Achondroplasia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The burning of Bridget Cleary: psychiatric aspects of a tragic tale.

BACKGROUND: Bridget Cleary was brutally burned to death by her husband in the presence of her father and several close relatives in rural Ireland in 1895. The story has attracted public attention for more than a century now, for numerous reasons. AIMS: The issue of psychiatric illness in this tragedy, and the role of fairy mythology in belief systems in 19th Century rural Ireland are reviewed, particularly in relation to providing explanations for physical and psychiatric illness, along with learning disability. METHODS: Reference was made to a wide range of sources featuring the burning of Bridget Cleary. RESULTS: There is some evidence to suggest that the actions of Michael Cleary and other key protagonists were influenced by Capgras syndrome and folie a plusiers. CONCLUSIONS: Delusional belief in fairy mythology may have coloured the psychological make-up, motivations and behaviour of some of the people involved in the killing of Bridget Cleary.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

The Io syndrome: symptom formation in victims of sexual abuse.

The sexual abuse of women today is analyzed alongside the mythology of Ovid's Metamorphoses. Two thousand years ago, Ovid unfolded a world view of human beliefs and practices that make up today's symptom formation and psychodynamic in victims of sexual abuse. Herewith the mythology of Io. Her rape and subsequent symptom formation is understood as a clinical account of rape-trauma syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Horse madness (hippomania) and hippophobia.

Anthropophagic horses have been described in classical mythology. From a current perspective, two such instances are worth mentioning and describing: Glaucus of Potniae, King of Efyra, and Diomedes, King of Thrace, who were both devoured by their horses. In both cases, the horses' extreme aggression and their subsequent anthropophagic behaviour were attributed to their madness (hippomania) induced by the custom of feeding them with flesh. The current problem of 'mad cow' disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) is apparently related to a similar feed pattern. Aggressive behaviour in horses can be triggered by both biological and psychological factors. In the cases cited here, it is rather unlikely that the former were the cause. On the other hand, the multiple abuses imposed on the horses, coupled with people's fantasies and largely unconscious fears (hippophobia), may possibly explain these mythological descriptions of 'horse-monsters'.

Ancient Lands↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Myths, nightmares, scenarios and criminal acts].

This article reports four observations of sexual criminals, sylvan and nocturnal rovers, with different personalities. To understand this type of behaviour, the author use of mythology language and symbol, and its different representations (the wolf, the were-wolf and the Pan divinity) to find a psychopathological explication. These acting out, underlied by the (mythologic) language, also would appear as the consequence of a functional alteration of dream life, linked to archaic pregenital fixations and psychic violent traumatisms actually experienced in childhood.

Adult↗