Our earliest recorded history of brain diseases dates back to the neolithic period (12,000 BCE) when trephination (or trepanation) was practiced by diverse societies. Although begun in prehistory, trephination did not disappear as human society progressed. Trephined skulls were found in ancient regions of the Middle East, Europe, and China. Even today, a different form of the world's oldest surgery (craniotomy) is sometimes performed by modern brain surgeons; for instance, to remove a brain tumor or treat an aneurysm. However, unlike trephination, which results in a permanent hole in the skull, the modern process requires the replacement of the removed bone fragment after the brain surgery is completed. As an entity, the brain was already known in Ancient Egypt as evidenced by an Egyptian hieroglyph dating back to 1700 BCE. A papyrus (acquired by Edwin Smith in Luxor in 1862), prepared a century later, is the world's oldest surviving surgical document. While it describes in exquisite details anatomical observations, examinations, diagnoses, treatments, and prognoses of 48 types of medical and brain problems, it did not reveal any Ancient Egyptian attempt at brain surgery. Skipping over the intervening centuries, I aim in this book to share with the reader not only the disorders of the human brain but also its wonders as fathomed during these modern times. I hope the journey will be an informative and enjoyable one.
DR. ALAIN L. FYMAT is a medical-physical scientist and an educator. He is the current President/ CEO and Institute Professor at the International Institute of Medicine & Science, with a previous appointment as Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer and Professor at the Weil Institute of Critical Care Medicine, California, U.S.A. He was formerly Professor of Radiology, Radiological Sciences, Radiation Oncology, Critical Care Medicine, and Physics at several U.S. and European Universities. Earlier, he was Deputy Director (Western Region) of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (Office of Research Oversight). At the Loma Linda Veterans Affairs Medical Center, he was Scientific Director of Radiology, Director of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center and, for a time, Acting Chair of Radiology. Previously, he was Director of the Division of Biomedical and Biobehavioral Research at the University of California at Los Angeles/Drew University of Medicine & Science. He was also Scientific Advisor to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, for its postdoctoral programs tenable at the California Institute of Technology and Member of the Advisory Group for Research & Development, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). He is Health Advisor to the American Heart & Stroke Association, Coachella Valley Division, California. He has lectured extensively in the U.S.A, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Africa. He is also Editor-in-Chief, Honorable Editor or Editor of numerous medical/scientific journals to which he regularly contributes.
