Fire, St. Anthony’s
Fire, St. Anthony’s: The intensely painful burning sensation in the limbs and extremities caused by ergot, the consequence of a fungus (Claviceps purpurea) that contaminates rye and wheat.
The fungus produces substances (alkaloids) termed ergotamines that constrict blood vessels and cause the muscle of the uterus to contract. The ergotamines have been much used (and been very useful) for the treatment of migraine. They have also been used (and misused) as abortifacients (agents of abortion).
In excess, ergotamines are highly toxic and cause symptoms such as hallucinations, severe gastrointestinal upset, and a type of dry gangrene. Chronic ergot poisoning (ergotism) was rife during the Middle Ages due to the consumption of contaminated rye.
St Anthony is one of a number of saints whose names have entered the annals of medicine. Others include St. Guy, St. John and St. Vitus. St. Anthony’s fire referred not only to ergot poisoning but also to erysipelas, a type of spreading hot, bright red strep skin infection.
For more about this fascinating disease, see our article on St. Anthony’s Fire — Ergotism .
Read Also:
- Fireworks injury
Fireworks injury: An injury from a device for producing a striking display by the combustion of explosive or flammable compositions. Since fireworks are often used around holidays, fireworks injuries tend to cluster about holidays and can spoil them. All fireworks are potentially dangerous, especially to children. Children 14 years and younger sustain about 50% of […]
- First American medical journal
First American medical journal: The Medical Repository, founded in 1797 and published quarterly until 1824. The Medical Repository was the first serious attempt in the US to present the relation between science and practice in a serial format that allowed response and communication. The Medical Repository introduced new scientific theory, such as the chemistry of […]
- First American medical school
First American medical school: King’s College Medical School founded in New York in 1767. Its mission was fairly lofty — to “enlarge the Mind, improve the Understanding, polish the whole Man, and qualify them to support the brightest Character in all the elevated stations in life.” King’s College was the first institution in the North […]
- First cranial nerve
First cranial nerve: The olfactory nerve, the nerve that permits the sense of smell. See: Olfactory nerve.
- First do no harm
First do no harm: Slogan used in medicine often in the Latin wording “primum non nocere,” a fundamental medical precept of Hippocrates (ca. 460-ca. 377 B.C).