The missing hands of Blaise Cendrars. 2010

Laurent Tatu
Departments of Neuromuscular Diseases and Anatomy, CHU Jean-Minjoz, University of Franche-Comté, Besançon, France.

The life and works of Blaise Cendrars (1887-1961), one of the greatest French literary authors of the 20th century, were profoundly influenced by neurology. Having been wounded in the Great War in 1915, his right forearm was amputated, and he very quickly began to suffer from stump pain and phantom hand phenomena, which persisted until his death. Following his amputation he became a left-handed writer. Half a century later, between 1956 and his death in 1961, he suffered two strokes which gradually paralyzed the left side of his body. After the second stroke in 1958, he became a 'handless writer', also partially losing his ability to express himself orally. Although the works of Blaise Cendrars portray characters with serious mental disorders, they also contain characters with real neurological diseases, such as the trepanated aphasic in 'J'ai Saigné'. The most famous of these is undoubtedly Moravagine, the protagonist of the eponymous novel, who presents acute behavioral disturbances. We learn from the autopsy report that he was in fact suffering from a brain tumor. On several occasions, including the complex case of Moravagine, and by presenting his ideas on hysteria, Blaise Cendrars, in his own way, addressed the somewhat fuzzy boundary that exists between psychiatry and neurology.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008093 Literature, Modern Writings originating from the 15th century A.D. to the present Modern Literature
D008297 Male Males
D010591 Phantom Limb Perception of painful and nonpainful phantom sensations that occur following the complete or partial loss of a limb. The majority of individuals with an amputated extremity will experience the impression that the limb is still present, and in many cases, painful. (From Neurol Clin 1998 Nov;16(4):919-36; Brain 1998 Sep;121(Pt 9):1603-30) Pseudomelia,Phantom Limb Pain,Phantom Pain,Phantom Sensation,Limb Pain, Phantom,Limb Pains, Phantom,Limb, Phantom,Limbs, Phantom,Pain, Phantom,Pain, Phantom Limb,Pains, Phantom,Pains, Phantom Limb,Phantom Limb Pains,Phantom Limbs,Phantom Pains,Phantom Sensations,Pseudomelias,Sensation, Phantom,Sensations, Phantom
D011037 Poetry as Topic Works about the literary and oral genre expressing meaning via symbolism and following formal or informal patterns.
D005197 Famous Persons Individuals widely known or recognized. Famous Person,Persons, Famous
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000368 Aged A person 65 years of age or older. For a person older than 79 years, AGED, 80 AND OVER is available. Elderly
D049672 History, 19th Century Time period from 1801 through 1900 of the common era. 19th Century History,19th Cent. History (Medicine),19th Cent. History of Medicine,19th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 19th Century,History of Medicine, 19th Cent.,History, Nineteenth Century,Medical History, 19th Cent.,Medicine, 19th Cent.,19th Cent. Histories (Medicine),19th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 19th (Medicine),Cent. History, 19th (Medicine),Century Histories, 19th,Century Histories, Nineteenth,Century History, 19th,Century History, Nineteenth,Histories, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 19th Century,Histories, Nineteenth Century,History, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Nineteenth Century Histories,Nineteenth Century History
D049673 History, 20th Century Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era. 20th Century History,20th Cent. History (Medicine),20th Cent. History of Medicine,20th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 20th Century,History of Medicine, 20th Cent.,History, Twentieth Century,Medical History, 20th Cent.,Medicine, 20th Cent.,20th Cent. Histories (Medicine),20th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 20th (Medicine),Cent. History, 20th (Medicine),Century Histories, 20th,Century Histories, Twentieth,Century History, 20th,Century History, Twentieth,Histories, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 20th Century,Histories, Twentieth Century,History, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Twentieth Century Histories,Twentieth Century History

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