Fernando Orrego1* and Carlos Quintana2,3
-Author Affiliations
1Origin of Living Beings, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de los AndesSantiago 6782468, Chile
2Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de los Andes Santiago 6782468, Chile
3Department of Gastroenterology, School of Medicine, Catholic University of Chile Santiago 6510260, Chile
(forrego@uandes.cl)
Next Section
Image not related to this article/Imagem não relacionada com este artigo: Darwin Legend
Abstract
We have re-examined many of the abundant publications on the illness that afflicted Charles Darwin during most of his life, including some of the 416 health-related letters in his correspondence, as well as his autobiographical writings. We have concluded that he suffered from Crohn's disease, located mainly in his upper small intestine. This explains his upper abdominal pain, his flatulence and vomiting, as well as his articular and neurological symptoms, his ‘extreme fatigue’, low fever and especially the chronic, relapsing course of his illness that evolved in bouts, did not affect his life expectancy and decreased with old age, and also the time of life at which it started. It apparently does not explain, however, many of his cutaneous symptoms. We do not support other diagnoses such as Chagas' disease, lactose intolerance or the many psychiatric conditions that have been postulated.
Keywords: Darwin illness Crohn's disease Chagas lactose intolerance
+++++
