The European neurosurgery journal Acta Nuerochirugica has recently published an unusual paper on traumatic brain injury. Instead of worrying about human experimentation, the study focuses on the sample’s found in the legendary comic book Asterix. In their study, the researchers looked at 34 books and observed 704 cases of head trauma, 87.1% of which were caused by the Gauls central to the series. The Medical Express blog breaks down the Vital Statistix:
[O]ut of the 704 victims, 698 were male. 63.9 percent were Romans and the rest were Gauls, bandits, pirates, Normans, Vikings, Goths, Britons and even extraterrestrials. […] In looking at the victims, researchers noted visible injuries such as ‘raccoon eyes,’ or periorbital ecchymoses and tongues that stuck out in a sideways pointing fashion known as paresis of the hypoglossal nerve to identify the traumatic brain injury. They also used the Glasgow coma scale to rate the seriousness of the brain injuries. According to their findings, 696 of the cases were a result of blunt force trauma while strangulation was responsible for the remaining eight.
This study is primarily a tongue-in-cheek exercise, and only really advances the knowledge that scientists do have a sense of humor. That said, it does open the door for discussions about the role of mass wild boar consumption among diminutive members of the Gaulish community, and perhaps a look at the mathematical distribution of Menhirs across a fictional landscape. The possibilities are endless when you’re not overly dogmatix!
(via Medical Express, thanks Erin!)
Published: Jun 17, 2011 04:18 pm