Felix Platter and a historical perspective of the meningioma

• This is a historical article about Dr. Felix Platter's life and pioneer work.
• He was the first to describe intracranial meningiomas, a unique contribution.
• Platter was also the first to describe Dupuytren's disease.
• He described hypertrophy of the thalamus, and the retina as the sensory organ.

IntroductionFelix Platter is one of the pioneer anatomists and physicians of the 16th century who described various human diseases including meningioma. In this historical article, we present the details of Platter's life and his pioneering work on meningioma.First case of MeningiomaIn 1614, Dr. Platter described the first case of meningioma. He described the tumor as a round, fleshy mass shaped like an acorn and as large as a medium-sized apple, and full of holes. The tumor was covered with its own membrane, had no connection with the matters of the brain, and left behind a cavity after removal. This first clear description of an intracranial tumor is most consistent with encapsulated meningioma. The succeeding scholar, Harvey Cushing, coined the term “meningioma” for this tumor; neurosurgeons today describe the tumor as “parasagittal or falcine meningioma.”Other contributionsIn addition to his contribution to meningioma study, Dr. Platter was also the first to describe Dupuytren's disease, hypertrophy of the thalamus, and the retina as the sensory organ of the eye. He contributed to the germ theory of disease and gave substantial accounts of mental illnesses, gynecological disorders, and certain dermatological conditions.PublicationsDr. Platter published numerous accounts on various diseases. In 1614 he reported the case of meningioma in the book entitled “Platerus Observations in Hominis”. Additionally, Dr. Platter published his work, ‘Praxeos Medicae,’ which contains his most important contribution on psychiatry and his classification of psychiatric diseases.ConclusionBecause of his many contributions to neuroscience, particularly his identification of meningioma, Dr. Platter should be highly credited as a pioneer in the field of neurosurgery.