[Origins of trigeminal neuralgia surgery (standing on the shoulders of giants)].

Abstract

Trigeminal neuralgia is a well-known disease characterized by excruciating, paroxysmal, piercing pain in the face. It is often provoked by facial expressions or eating. Physicians have attempted to describe this severe pain for the past two thousand years. They described cephalgia, but their descriptions were vague and did not correspond to what we now call trigeminal neuralgia. The first more precise description of trigeminal neuralgia was presented in the 17th century. However, pathogenesis was unclear for a long time. Only in the early 20th century, Walter Dandy suggested vascular compression of trigeminal root as a possible cause of disease.