18th century French illustration of trepanation

Trepanation (also known as trepanning, trephination, trephining or burr hole) is a form of surgery in which a hole is drilled or scraped into the skull, thus exposing the dura mater in order to treat health problems related to intracranial diseases, though in the modern era it is used only to treat epidural and subdural hematomas, as an extreme body modification, and for surgical access for certain other neurosurgical procedures (e.g. intracranial pressure monitoring). Credit(s): ENCYCLOPÉDIE OU DICTIONNAIRE RAISONNÉ DES SCIENCES, DES ARTS ET DES MÉTIERS Source: http://hera. ... Credit(s): ENCYCLOPÉDIE OU DICTIONNAIRE RAISONNÉ DES SCIENCES, DES ARTS ET DES MÉTIERS Source: http://hera. ... A cardiothoracic surgeon performs a mitral valve replacement at the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center. ... A child using an electric drill with a screwdriver bit mounted in the chuck. ... It has been suggested that temporal fenestra be merged into this article or section. ... The dura mater (from the Latin hard mother), or pachymeninx, is the tough and inflexible outermost of the three layers of the meninges surrounding the brain. ... Nontraumatic epidural hematoma in a young woman. ... A subdural hematoma (SDH) is a form of traumatic brain injury in which blood collects between the dura (the outer protective covering of the brain) and the arachnoid (the middle layer of the meninges). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

A trepan may also refer to a rock-boring tool used for sinking mine shafts. It is also a kind of industrial drill bit, commonly used to bore large diameter holes in metal and sometimes referred to as a BTA drill. The drill characteristically leaves a core. Drill bits are cutting tools used to create cylindrical holes. ... Bore may refer to: A wave in a river caused by an incoming tide - see tidal bore The diameter of a pipe or tube, or the caliber of a gun The diameter of a cylinder and piston in a piston engine (See also: Stroke) A person who is boring The... Truck mounted core drill A core drill is a drill specifically designed to remove a cylinder of material. ...

Trepanation is also a technique used by Bomb Disposal units where a bore is cut into the sidewall of a bomb and the explosive contents are extracted through a combination of steam and acid bath liquification of bomb contents. UXO trepanation procedures were used mainly after WWII and were developed by the British UXO units. Unexploded ordnance (or UXOs) are explosive weapons (bombs, shells, grenades, etc. ...

Trepanation was carried out for both medical reasons and mystical practices for a long time: Evidence of trepanation has been found in prehistoric human remains from Neolithic times onwards, per cave paintings indicating that people believed the practice would cure epileptic seizures, migraines, and mental disorders.[Brothwell, D.R. Digging up Bones. 1963:126] Furthermore, Hippocrates gave specific directions on the procedure from its evolution through the Greek age. Mysticism (ancient Greek mysticon = secret) is meditation, prayer, or theology focused on the direct experience of union with divinity, God, or Ultimate Reality, or the belief that such experience is a genuine and important source of knowledge. ... An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools. ... Epilepsy (often referred to as a seizure disorder) is a chronic neurological condition characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. ... Hippocrates of Cos II or Hippokrates of Kos (ca. ...

History of trepanation

Trepanation in the Old World

Trepanation is perhaps the oldest surgical procedure for which there is evidence^[1], and in some areas may have been quite widespread. Out of 120 prehistoric skulls found at one burial site in France dated to 6500 BC, 40 had trepanation holes.^[2] Surprisingly, many prehistoric and premodern patients had signs of their skull structure healing; suggesting that many of those that proceeded with the surgery survived their operation.

Trepanation was also practiced in the classical and Renaissance periods. Hippocrates gave specific directions on the procedure from its evolution through the Greek age, and Galen elaborates on the procedure, too. Doctors in ancient Egypt used the scrapings of the skull to create love potions and other concoctions.^{[citation needed]} Hippocrates of Cos II or Hippokrates of Kos (ca. ...

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, trepanation was practiced as a cure for various ailments, including seizures and skull fractures. The surgeons who performed these trepanations were probably highly skilled because the survival rate of the operations was high and the infection rate was low.^[3] The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The Renaissance (French for rebirth, or Rinascimento in Italian), was a cultural movement in Italy (and in Europe in general) that began in the late Middle Ages, and spanned roughly the 14th through the 17th century. ...

Trepanation in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica

Main article: Trepanation in Mesoamerica

In pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, evidence for the practice of trepanation and an assortment of other cranial deformation techniques comes from a variety of sources, including physical cranial remains of pre-Columbian burials, allusions in iconographic artworks and reports from the post-colonial period. Trepanation in Mesoamerica has been practised by a number of pre-Columbian cultures in the Mesoamerican region, dating from at least the mid-Preclassic era (ca. ... The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the Americas continent. ... The cultural areas of Mesoamerica Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Spanish: Mesoamérica) was a geographical culture area extending from central Honduras and northwestern Costa Rica on the south, and, in Mexico, from the Soto la Marina River in Tamaulipas and the Rio Fuerte in Sinaloa on the north. ... Cranium can mean: The brain and surrounding skull, a part of the body. ...

Among New World societies, trephinning is most commonly found in the Andean civilizations such as the Inca.^[4] Its prevalence among Mesoamerican civilizations is much lower, at least judging from the comparatively few trepanated crania which have been uncovered.^[5] Frontispiece of Peter Martyr dAnghieras De orbe novo (On the New World). Carte dAmérique, Guillaume Delisle, 1722. ... Planes view of the Andes, Peru. ... Capital Cusco 1197-1533 Vilcabamba 1533-1572 Language(s) Quechua, Aymara, Jaqi family, Mochic and scores of smaller languages. ...

The archaeological record in Mesoamerica is further complicated by the practice of skull mutilation and modification which was carried out after the death of the subject, in order to fashion "trophy skulls" and the like of captives and enemies. This was a reasonably widespread tradition, illustrated in pre-Columbian art which on occasion depicts rulers adorned with or carrying the modified skulls of their defeated enemies, or of the ritualistic display of sacrificial victims. Several Mesoamerican cultures used a skull-rack (known by its Nahuatl term, tzompantli ) on which skulls were impaled in rows or columns of wooden stakes. The archaeological record is a term used in archaeology to denote the physical remains of past human activities which archaeologists seek out and record in an attempt to analyise and reconstruct the past. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Classical Nahuatl (also known as Aztec, and simply Nahuatl) is a term used to describe the variants of the Nahuatl language that were spoken in the Valley of Mexico — and central Mexico as a lingua franca — at the time of the 16th-century Spanish conquest of Mexico. ... A stake used to display the heads of victims or defeated Mesoamerican ball game opponents. ...

Even so, some evidence of genuine trepanation in Mesoamerica (i.e., where the subject was living) has been recovered.

The earliest archaeological survey^[6] published of trepanated crania was a late 19th-century study of several specimens recovered from the Tarahumara mountains by the Norwegian ethnographer Carl Lumholtz.^[7] Later studies documented cases identified from a range of sites in Oaxaca and central Mexico, such as Tilantongo, Oaxaca and the major Zapotec site of Monte Albán. Two specimens from the Tlatilco civilization's homelands (which flourished around 1400 BCE) indicate the practice has a lengthy tradition.^[8] The Tarahumara are a Native American people of northern Mexico, renowned for their long-distance running ability. ... Ethnography (from the Greek ethnos = nation and graphe = writing) refers to the qualitative description of human social phenomena, based on months or years of fieldwork. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Catedral de Santo Domingo The Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca or simply Oaxaca   is one of the 31 states of Mexico, located in the southern part of Mexico, west of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. ... Tilantongo was a city in the ancient Mixtec civilization. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Monte Albán is a large archeological site in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. ... A piece of ceramic art recovered from Tlatilco. ...

A study of ten low-status burials from the Late Classic period at Monte Albán concluded that the trepanation had been applied non-therapeutically, and, since multiple techniques had been used and since some people had received more than one trepanation, concluded it had been done experimentally. Inferring the events to represent experiments on people until they died, the study interpreted that use of trepanation as an indicator of the stressful sociopolitical climate that not long thereafter resulted in the abandonment of Monte Alban as the primary regional administrative center in the Oaxacan highlands.^{[citation needed]} Mesoamerican chronology The chronology of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica is usually divided into the following eras: Paleo-Indian Period c. ... Monte Albán is a large archeological site in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. ... Catedral de Santo Domingo The Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca or simply Oaxaca   is one of the 31 states of Mexico, located in the southern part of Mexico, west of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. ...

Specimens identified from the Maya civilization region of southern Mexico, Guatemala and the Yucatán peninsula show no evidence of the drilling or cutting techniques found in central and highland Mexico. Instead, the pre-Columbian Maya seemed to have utilised an abrasive technique which ground away at the back of the skull, thinning the bone and sometimes perforating it, similar to the examples from Cholula. Many of the skulls from the Maya region date from the Postclassic period (ca. 950–1400), and include specimens found at Palenque in Chiapas, and recovered from the Sacred Cenote at the prominent Postclassic site of Chichen Itza in northern Yucatán.^[9] The Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as its spectacular art, monumental architecture, and sophisticated mathematical and astronomical systems. ... The Yucatán peninsula as seen from space The Yucatán Peninsula separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico. ... The Palace, Ruins of Palenque Palenque is a Maya archeological site near the Usumacinta River in the Mexican state of Chiapas, located at about 130 km south of Ciudad del Carmen (see map). ... Chiapas is a state in the southeast of Mexico. ... Sacred Cenote at Chichén Itzá Sacred Cenote (Well of Sacrifice) is a noted cenote at the Mayan site of Chichen Itza. ... Temple of the Warriors Chichen Itza is the largest of the Pre-Columbian archaeological sites in Yucat n, Mexico. ...

Trepanation in modern times

Although widely considered today to be pseudoscience, the practice of trepanation for medical benefits continues. The most prominent explanation for these benefits is offered by Bart Hughes, sometimes referred to as "Dr. Bart Hughes" even though he did not complete his medical degree. In the Hughes theory, trepanation increases "brain blood volume" and thereby enhances cerebral metabolism in a manner similar to cerebral vasodilators such as gingko biloba. No published results of clinical trials of trepanation have supported this theory. There is an ongoing study involving pre and post operative MRI in a Mexican cosmetic surgery clinic.[1] Publication of this study is uncertain. Phrenology is regarded today as a classic example of pseudoscience. ... A vasodilator is a substance that causes blood vessels in the body to become wider by relaxing the smooth muscle in the vessel wall, or vasodilation. ... Binomial name Ginkgo biloba L. The Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), sometimes also known as the Maidenhair Tree, is a unique tree with no close living relatives. ... The mri are a fictional alien species in the Faded Sun Trilogy of C.J. Cherryh. ...

Other modern practitioners of trepanation claim that it holds other medical benefits, such as a treatment for depression or other psychological ailments. In 2000 two men from Cedar City, Utah were prosecuted for practicing medicine without a licence after they performed a trepanation on an Englishwoman to treat her chronic fatigue syndrome and depression.[2] 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Cedar City is a city located in Iron County, Utah, 250 miles South of Salt Lake City on Interstate 15. ... Official language(s) English Capital Salt Lake City Largest city Salt Lake City Area  Ranked 13th  - Total 84,889 sq mi (219,887 km²)  - Width 270 miles (435 km)  - Length 350 miles (565 km)  - % water 3. ... Clinical depression (also called major depressive disorder, or unipolar depression when compared to bipolar disorder) is a state of intense sadness, melancholia or despair that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individuals social functioning and/or activities of daily living. ...

However, most individuals who practice non-emergency trepanation today do so for psychic purposes. A prominent proponent of the modern view is Peter Halvorson, who drilled a hole in the front of his own skull to increase "brain blood volume".^[10]. Amanda Feilding performed a self-trepanation with a drill, while her partner Joey Mellen filmed the operation, in the film titled Heartbeat in the Brain. The film has since become a lost film. Amanda Feilding (Lady Neidpath) is a British art dealer and painter. ... Joseph Joey Mellen is the author of Bore Hole, a controversial book about his attempts at self-trepanation, and his eventual success with the help of his partner Amanda Feilding. ... A lost film is a film which, for any of several reasons, is no longer in existence. ...

While these uses of trepanation are considered pseudoscience in the legitimate medical community, trepanation is a widely accepted treatment for epidural and subdural hematomas, and for surgical access for certain other neurosurgical procedures (e.g. intracranial pressure monitoring). In almost all cases, the removed piece of skull is replaced as soon as possible. Phrenology is regarded today as a classic example of pseudoscience. ...

Trepanated skull, Iron age. The patient survived the operation.

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1360, 1055 KB) Work by Rama File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Trepanation Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1360, 1055 KB) Work by Rama File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Trepanation Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner...

Self-trepanation

See also: Self-surgery#Self-trepanation

In a chapter of his book, Eccentric Lives & Peculiar Notions, John Michell describes a British group that advocates self-trepanation, that is, the drilling of a hole in the skull to allow the brain access to more space and oxygen. The chapter is called "The People With Holes in their Heads". Self-surgery can be a rare manifestation of a psychological disorder, an attempt to avoid embarrassment or legal action, or an act taken in extreme circumstances out of necessity. ...

According to Michell, the Dutch doctor Bart Huges (sometimes written as "Bart Hughes") pioneered the idea of trepanation. Huges' 1962 monograph, Homo Sapiens Correctus, is cited by most advocates of self-trepanation. Among other arguments, he contends that since children have a higher state of consciousness, and children's skulls are not fully closed, that one can return to an earlier, childlike state of consciousness by self-trepanation. Further, by allowing the brain to freely pulsate, Huges argues that a number of benefits will accrue.

Michell quotes a book called Bore Hole written by Joseph (Joey) Mellen. At the time the passage below was written, Joey and his partner, Amanda Feilding, had made two previous attempts at trepanning Joey. The second attempt ended up placing Joey in the hospital, where he was scolded severely and sent for psychiatric evaluation. After he returned home, Joey decided to try again. Joey describes his third attempt at self-trepanation: Amanda Feilding (Lady Neidpath) is a British art dealer and painter. ...

After some time there was an ominous sounding schlurp and the sound of bubbling. I drew the trepan out and the gurgling continued. It sounded like air bubbles running under the skull as they were pressed out. I looked at the trepan and there was a bit of bone in it. At last!

There is an active advocacy group for the self-trepanation procedure, the International Trepanation Advocacy Group. Their webpage [3] includes MRI images of trepanned brains. The mri are a fictional alien species in the Faded Sun Trilogy of C.J. Cherryh. ...

Miscellaneous references

• Following the arrest of American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, several accusations surfaced that he had practiced a form of trepanation on his victims.
• In Philip Pullman's fantasy series His Dark Materials, trepanning is used by the Tartars to increase consciousness by attracting the mysterious substance called Dust.
• The movie π directed by Darren Aronofsky contains a somewhat graphic self-trepanation scene preformed with an electric screwdriver.
• The movie Saw 3 also contains a graphic trepanation scene.
• Ripley's Believe It Or Not Curiosities contains trepanned skulls.
• The TV series Dead Like Me features a grim reaper named Mason who dies in the 1960's of self-trepanation with a power drill, in an attempt to chase the ultimate high.
• In the 2003 film Master and Commander: Far Side of the World ship surgeon Stephen Maturin performs a trephanation on Joe Plaice whose skull was fractured by a falling piece of the yard arms.
• In the manga One Piece trepanation is mentioned by Chopper as a method for treating tumours used in ancient times when analysing a skull found in the wrecks of a pirate ship.
• Trepanning is a song by the rock band Cave In.
• "Trepanation" is also the term used to refer to the process by which the steel in turbine rotors is tested for quality after forging.^{[citation needed]}
• "The band known as Machine Head recorded a song called Trephination on their album, "Supercharger."
• In the movie Ghostbusters, the character of Egon Spengler is mentioned to have attempted self-trepanation, though was stopped by Peter Venkman.

Serial killers are individuals who have a history of multiple slayings of victims who were usually unknown to them beforehand. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Philip Pullman CBE (born October 19, 1946) is an English writer. ... The trilogy (U.K versions), in order of succession from left to right. ... Ï€ (also known as Pi or Pi - Faith in Chaos) is a 1998 American psychological thriller directed by Darren Aronofsky. ... Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American film director, screenwriter and film producer. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Ripleys Believe It or Not! deals in the bizarre—events and items so strange and unusual that it is often hard to believe that they actually exist--but they do: believe it. ... Dead Like Me is an American television comedy-drama created by Bryan Fuller for the Showtime network starring Ellen Muth and Mandy Patinkin as grim reapers in Seattle, Washington. ... Serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump Monthly Shonen Jump Carlsen-Verlag Original run August 4, 1997 – (ongoing) No. ... Look up cave in in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The machine heads on a Squier Stratocaster electric guitar. ... Ghostbusters is a 1984 sci-fi comedy film about three eccentric New York City parapsychologists. ... Egon in The Real Ghostbusters Egon Spengler, Ph. ... Peter Venkman, Ph. ...

See also

• Mütter Museum
• Lobotomy
• History of surgery

Interior of the Mütter Museum The Mütter Museum is a museum of medical oddities, antique medical equipment and biological specimens located in the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. ... A human brain that has undergone lobotomy. ... History of surgery covers the development of invasive and non-invasive medical procedures from prehistoric to modern times. ...

Notes

Look up ibid, idem in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

References

• Capasso L., 2001. Principi di Storia della Patologia Umana, Roma.
• Restak, Richard (2000). "Fixing the Brain", {{{title}}}. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic. 
• Lumholtz, Carl (1897). "Trephining in Mexico". American Anthropologist 10 (12): pp.389–396. 
• Romero Molina, Javier (1970). "Dental Mutilation, Trephination, and Cranial Deformation", in Wauchope, et al. (Eds.): Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol. 9, 2nd. edition (revised), Austin: University of Texas. 
• Tiesler Blos, Vera (1999). "Rasgos Bioculturales Entre los Antiguos Mayas: Aspectos Culturales y Sociales". Doctoral thesis in Anthropology, UNAM. (Spanish)
• Tiesler Blos, Vera (2003a). "Cranial Surgery in Ancient Mesoamerica" (PDF). Mesoweb. Retrieved on 2006-05-23.
• Tiesler Blos, Vera (2003b). "Head Shaping and Dental Decoration Among the Ancient Maya" (PDF). Mesoweb. Retrieved on 2006-05-23.
• Carey, Stephen S. (2004) A Beginner's Guide to Scientific Method. Third Edition. Toronto: Thomson Wadsworth
• Czarnetzki, A (2001). "Trepanations from the early medieval period in southwestern Germany--indications, complications and outcome".

There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... is the 143rd day of the year (144th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... is the 143rd day of the year (144th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Teppum needs Trepanation

• WHO surgical instructions on burr holes
• Skeptic's Dictionary entry about Trepanation
• International Trepanation Advocacy Group
• Diary of a trepannee, circa 2000
• Guide to Trepanation
• EOD/UXO Trepanation Machine