Hydrocephalus

==History==
[[File:Vimont Traite de Phrenologie 022.jpg|right|thumb|Skull of a hydrocephalic child (1800s)]]
In the pre-historic area, there were various paintings or artifacts depicting children or adults with [[macrocephaly]] (large head) or clinical findings of hydrocephalus. However, due to lack of writing, it was unknown how the people thought of the disorder at that time and the ways to treat the disease.<ref name="Cinalli 2019">{{Cite book |last=Cinalli |first=G |chapter-url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-27250-4 |chapter=Pediatric Hydrocephalus |date=2019 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-319-27248-1 |editor-last=Cinalli |editor-first=Giuseppe |location=Cham |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-27250-4 |s2cid=128359318 |editor-last2=Özek |editor-first2=M. Memet |editor-last3=Sainte-Rose |editor-first3=Christian}}</ref>

References to hydrocephalic skulls can be found in [[Ancient Egyptian medicine|ancient Egyptian]] medical literature from 2,500 BC to 500 AD.<ref name=Aschoff/> Hydrocephalus was described more clearly by the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates in the fourth century BC, while a more accurate description was later given by the [[Medicine in ancient Rome|Roman]] physician [[Galen]] in the second century AD.<ref name=Aschoff/>

The first clinical description of an operative procedure for hydrocephalus appears in the ''[[Al-Tasrif]]'' (1,000 AD) by the [[Medicine in medieval Islam|Arab]] surgeon [[Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi|Abulcasis]], who clearly described the evacuation of superficial intracranial fluid in hydrocephalic children.<ref name="Aschoff">{{cite journal | vauthors = Aschoff A, Kremer P, Hashemi B, Kunze S | title = The scientific history of hydrocephalus and its treatment | journal = Neurosurgical Review | volume = 22 | issue = 2–3 | pages = 67–93; discussion 94–5 | date = October 1999 | pmid = 10547004 | doi = 10.1007/s101430050035 | s2cid = 10077885 }}</ref> He described it in his chapter on [[Neurosurgery|neurosurgical]] disease, describing infantile hydrocephalus as being caused by mechanical compression. He wrote:<ref name="Aschoff" />

{{blockquote|The skull of a newborn baby is often full of liquid, either because the matron has compressed it excessively or for other, unknown reasons. The volume of the skull then increases daily, so that the bones of the skull fail to close. In this case, we must open the middle of the skull in three places, make the liquid flow out, then close the wound and tighten the skull with a bandage.}}

[[File:Hydrocephalus-baby.jpg|thumb|200px|Historical specimen of an infant with severe hydrocephalus, probably untreated|alt=Preserved corpse of a newborn with an enlarged head|left]]
In 1881, a few years after the landmark study of [[Gustaf Retzius|Retzius]] and Key, [[Carl Wernicke]] pioneered sterile ventricular puncture and external drainage of CSF for the treatment of hydrocephalus.<ref name="Aschoff" /> It remained an intractable condition until the 20th century, when [[cerebral shunt]] and other neurosurgical treatment modalities were developed.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

It is a lesser-known medical condition; relatively little research is conducted to improve treatment, and still no cure has been found. In developing countries, the condition often goes untreated at birth. Before birth, the condition is difficult to diagnose, and access to medical treatment is limited. However, when head swelling is prominent, children are taken at great expense for treatment. By then, brain tissue is undeveloped and neurosurgery is rare and difficult. Children more commonly live with undeveloped brain tissue and consequential intellectual disabilities and restrictions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geni.com/projects/Hydrocephalus/49669|title=Hydrocephalus genealogy project|website=geni_family_tree|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-09}}</ref>