https://doi.org/10.4081/reumatismo.2024.1704
On the early uses of the word ‘gout’: novel evidence and a critical assessment of the published literature
Submitted: 3 February 2024
Accepted: 17 March 2024
Published: 24 June 2024
Accepted: 17 March 2024
Abstract Views: 1318
PDF: 349
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Authors
Recognized since antiquity, gout is still a relevant pathology with rising prevalence and incidence. This study aims to assess the reference accuracy in journal articles mentioning the early use of the word ‘gout’. Specifically, it investigates whether the term was indeed coined in the 13th century by the Dominican monk Randolphus of Bocking, as widely believed. Several historical sources in their original Latin were consulted to test the hypothesis of literary mentions predating Randolphus of Bocking’s description. At the same time, biomedical articles spanning the last two decades were perused using specific keywords in different combinations to determine the accuracy level of references related to the earliest use of the word ‘gout’. The results showed that several biomedical publications wrongly ascribed the origin of the word ‘gout’ to Randolphus of Bocking. Indeed, various texts predate his mention by many years. In particular, gutta, the Latin word used to indicate a host of rheumatological conditions including gout, is recorded as early as the 10th century in a biography dedicated to the martyred nun Saint Wiborada of St. Gall. Written by Swiss monks between AD 960 and 963, this text should be regarded as containing the earliest known adoption of the word. For this reason, scholars should now avoid quoting Randolph of Bocking’s description as the first use of the word ‘gout’ in Western literature.
Kuo CF, Grainge MJ, Zhang W, Doherty M. Global epidemiology of gout: prevalence, incidence and risk factors. Nat Rev Rheumatol 2015; 11: 649-62.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2015.91
He Q, Mok TN, Sin TH, Yin J, Li S, Yin Y, et al. Global, regional, and national prevalence of gout from 1990 to 2019: age-period-cohort analysis with future burden prediction. JMIR Public Health Surveill 2023; 9: e45943.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/45943
Antonello A, Rippa Bonati M, D’Angelo A, Gambaro G, Calò L, Bonfante L. Gotta e rene tra XVII e XIX secolo. Reumatismo 2002; 54: 165-71. [Article in Italian].
Fornaciari A, Giuffra V, Armocida E, Caramella D, Rühli FJ, Galassi FM. Gout in Duke Federico of Montefeltro (1422-1482): a new pearl of the Italian Renaissance. Clin Exp Rheumatol 2018; 36: 15-20.
Galassi FM, Borghi C. A brief history of uric acid: from gout to cardiovascular risk factor. Eur J Intern Med 2015; 26: 373.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejim.2015.04.005
Garrod AB. The nature and treatment of gout and rheumatic gout. London: Walton & Maberly, 1859.
Entezami P, Fox Da, Clapham PJ, Chung KC. Historical perspective on the etiology of rheumatoid arthritis. Hand Clin 2011; 27: 1-10.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hcl.2010.09.006
Nuki G, Simkin PA. A concise history of gout and hyperuricemia and their treatment. Arthritis Res Ther 2006; 8: S1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/ar1906
Pillinger MH, Rosenthal P, Abeles AM. Hyperuricemia and gout: new insights into pathogenesis and treatment. Bull Hosp Jt Dis 2007; 65: 215-21.
Kwok T. Give me gout or give me death: the rise of gout in the eighteenth century. In: Stapleton M, Lewis J, Stahnisch F (eds.). The proceedings of the 17th annual history of medicine days, March 7th and 8th, 2008. Health Sciences Centre, Calgary, AB.
Hudson B. Gout: a history of theories and treatments. Pharm J 2009; 283: 707.
Omole O, Ogunbanjo G. The evolution of gout (an old lifestyle disease). SA Fam Pract 2009; 51: 396-8.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/20786204.2009.10873890
Parvin MN, Chowdhury SA, Islam SMA, Uddin R. Pattern and treatment of Gout in Bangladesh: a hospital based survey at Dhaka city, Bangladesh. J App Pharm Sci 2012; 02: 49-51.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7324/JAPS.2012.2528
Savica V, Santoro D, Ricciardi B, Ricciardi Ca, Calò La, Bellinghieri G. Morbus dominorum: gout as the disease of lords. J Nephrol 2013; 26: 113-6.
Benati C. Surgeon or lexicographer? The Latin-German glossaries in addendum to Hans von Gersdorff’s Feldtbuch der Wundarzney. Linguistica e Filologia 2013; 33: 35-57.
Kienhorst LB. Gout: a clinical overview and its association with cardiovascular diseases. World J Rheumatol 2014; 4: 62-71.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5499/wjr.v4.i3.62
Deshpande S. History of rheumatology. MJDRDYPU 2014; 7: 119.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/0975-2870.126307
Martins J, Jorge E, Camolas J, Do Carmo I. Estratégias para intervenção nutricional na hiperuricémia e gota. Revista Nutrícias 2014; 19: 28-31. [Article in Portuguese].
Fragkou T, Goula K, Drakoulogkona O. The history of gout through centuries. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2015; 30: iii377-80.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ndt/gfv186.05
Piombino-Mascali D, Jankauskas R, Zink AR, Todesco MS, Aufderheide AC, Panzer S. Paleoradiology of the Savoca mummies, Sicily, Italy (18th-19th Centuries AD). Anat Rec (Hoboken) 298: 988-1000.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.23132
Cho J-H, Jung JY. Historical study of the etymological form and translational process of gout. Uisahak 2015; 24: 533-57. [Article in Korean].
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13081/kjmh.2015.24.533
Mihai BM, Lacatusu CM. Gout – a disease for the elect. Rom J of Artist Creat 2015; 3: 17-24.
Giuffra V, Minozzi S, Vitiello A, Fornaciari A. On the history of gout: paleopathological evidence from the Medici family of Florence. Clin Exp Rheumatol 2017; 35: 321-6.
Licata M., Armocida G., Broggini M., Badino P. Identification of a corpse suffering from gout: a historical case of chiragra. Reumatizam 2018; 65: 35-7.
Akhtar H, Rashid M, Ahmad Qz, Ali D. Niqras (gout) from antiquity to present scenario and contribution of greco-arab physician. Ec Orthopaedics 2018; 9: 408-15.
Quintana MJ, Shum AZ, Folse MS, Ramesh PC, Ahmadzadeh S, Varrassi G, et al. Gout treatment and clinical considerations: the role of pegloticase, colchicine, and febuxostat. Cureus 2023; 15: e46649.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.46649
Tuta-Quintero E, Briceño-Balcázar I, Martínez-Lozano JC, Mora-Karam C, Gonzales-Yunda Á, Gómez-Restrepo L, et al. Help sought for gout sufferers: a historical look at the treatment of gout in the new kingdom of Granada. Rev Colomb de Reumatol 2023; 30: 310-5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rcreue.2021.09.004
Copeman WSC. A short history of the gout and the rheumatic diseases. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press; 1964.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520339484
Alia vita [Richardi Episcopi Cicestriensis] per Fr. Radulphum Ord. prædicatorum. ex MS. Lovaniensi Monasterii S. Martini. In: Acta sanctorum aprilis, tomus I (Tertia Aprilis), c. VII, 86, Antwerp; 1675.
Donizo, Vita Mathildis, liber II. In: Monumenta germaniae historica. Series scriptorum, XII, Hannover; 1856.
Vita Anselmi episcopi lucensis auctore Bardone presbytero: epistula altera Ubaldi episcopi Mantuani ad Mathildam, LXXIV. In: Monumenta Germaniae Historica. Series Scriptorum, XII, Hannover; 1856, pp. 29, 33.
Du Cange C. Glossarium mediæ et infimæ latinitatis. Niort: L. Favre, 1883-1887, s.v. “gutta”.
Rangerius Lucensis, Vita metrica Anselmi Lucensis episcopi. In: Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Series Scriptores 30, 2, Hannover; 1834, pp. 1306, 1307.
Thietmari merseburgensis: episcopi chronicon, IV, 48. Monumenta germaniae historica. series scriptores vi, scriptores rerum germanicarum, nova series IX, Berlin; 1935.
Neuwirth E. Milestones in the diagnosis and treatment of gout. Arch Intern Med (Chicago) 1943; 72: 377-87.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.1943.00210090078007
Ex Hartmanni Vita S.Wiboradae, 45. In: Monumenta germaniae historica, series scriptorum, IV, Hannover; 1841.
Alia Vita [S. Wiboradae Virginis et Martyris] auctore Hepidanno coenobita S.Galli, Prologus. In: Acta Sanctorum Maii, tomus I (Die Secunda Maii), Antwerp; 1680.
Galassi FM, Varotto E, Papa V, Artico M, Percivaldi P. Discovery of the first recorded use of “gout” as a medical term in history before AD 1000. Rheumatol Int 2024. Epub ahead of print. doi: 10.1007/s00296-024-05534-3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-024-05534-3
Porter R, Rousseau GS. Gout. The Patrician malady. New Haven, CT, USA: Yale University Press; 2000.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1571576
Galassi FM, Pate FD, You W, Gurr A, Lucas T, Antunes-Ferreira N, et al. Pandemic realism as the indispensable political precondition for global disease eradication. Public Health 2022; 212: 55-7.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2022.08.016
Coomes EA, Leis JA, Gold WL. Quarantine. CMAJ 2020; 192: E338.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.200393
Schleifring JH, Galassi FM, Habicht ME, Rühli FJ. Autopsing history: the mummy of Charlemagne (c. 747 - 814 AD), father of Europe. Econ Hum Biol 2019; 32: 11-7.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2018.11.002
Damiani E, Galassi FM, Elice M. Did Suetonius really call gout morbus dominorum? A philological and historico-medical reconstruction. Clin Rheumatol 2023; 42: 3153-8.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-023-06688-4
Cardenas D. Let not thy food be confused with thy medicine: the Hippocratic misquotation. e-SPEN J 2013; 8: e260-2.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnme.2013.10.002
How to Cite
Galassi, F., Ingaliso, L., Papa, V., Lorenzi, R., Percivaldi, E., & Varotto, E. (2024). On the early uses of the word ‘gout’: novel evidence and a critical assessment of the published literature. Reumatismo, 76(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/reumatismo.2024.1704
Copyright (c) 2024 the Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
Similar Articles
- Y. Emad, T. Gheita, H. Darweesh, P. Klooster, R. Gamal, H. Fathi, N. El-Shaarawy, M. Gamil, M. Hawass, R.M. El-Refai, H. Al-Hanafi, S. Abd-Ellatif, A. Ismail, J. Rasker, Antibodies to extractable nuclear antigens (ENAS) in systemic lupus erythematosus patients: correlations with clinical manifestations and disease activity , Reumatismo: Vol. 70 No. 2 (2018)
- J. N. Ablin, V. Aloush, A. Brill, M. Berman, M. Barzilai, D. Caspi, M. Mandelboim, D. Levartovsky, A. Polachek, Y. Wolman, D. Paran, M. Barkagan, O. Elkayam, Influenza vaccination is safe and effective in patients suffering from fibromyalgia syndrome , Reumatismo: Vol. 67 No. 2 (2015)
- M. Rossini, S. Adami, F. Bertoldo, D. Diacinti, D. Gatti, S. Giannini, A. Giusti, N. Malavolta, S. Minisola, G. Osella, M. Pedrazzoni, L. Sinigaglia, O. Viapiana, G. C. Isaia, Guidelines for the diagnosis, prevention and management of osteoporosis , Reumatismo: Vol. 68 No. 1 (2016)
- P. Montagna, R. Brizzolara, C. Ferrone, M. Cutolo, S. Paolino, M.A. Cimmino, A method for counting monosodium urate crystals in synovial fluid , Reumatismo: Vol. 67 No. 1 (2015)
- G. Pasero, P. Marson, Short story of antirheumatic therapy.VIII. The immunodepressants , Reumatismo: Vol. 64 No. 1 (2012)
- M. S. Dag, I. H. Turkbeyler, Z. A. Ozturk, B. Kısacık, E. Tutar, A. Kadayıfçı, Cytomegalovirus ileocolitis in a rheumatoid arthritis patient: case report and literature review , Reumatismo: Vol. 67 No. 1 (2015)
- G. Filippou, V. Picerno, A. Adinolfi, V. Di Sabatino, I. Bertoldi, M. Galeazzi, B. Frediani, Change perspective to increase diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography in calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate deposition disease! A new approach: the axial scan of the meniscus , Reumatismo: Vol. 66 No. 4 (2014)
- Y. Ragab, M. Nabih, I. Aly, A. Kamal, M. A. Abd-Allah, R. El-Refai, Y. Emad, A. El-Naggar, N. El-Shaarawy, J.J. Rasker, Magnetic resonance imaging features of hip disorders in an Egyptian pediatric population , Reumatismo: Vol. 67 No. 2 (2015)
- A. Alunno, O. Bistoni, F. Pratesi, F. Topini, I. Puxeddu, V. Valentini, G. Cafaro, E. Bartoloni, P. Migliorini, R. Gerli, Association between anti-citrullinated alpha enolase antibodies and clinical features in a cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a pilot study , Reumatismo: Vol. 70 No. 2 (2018)
- M. Manara, A. Bortoluzzi, M. Favero, I. Prevete, C.A. Scirè, G. Bianchi, C. Borghi, M. A. Cimmino, G. M. D'Avola, G. Desideri, G. Di Giacinto, M. Govoni, W. Grassi, A. Lombardi, M. Marangella, M. Matucci Cerinic, G. Medea, R. Ramonda, A. Spadaro, L. Punzi, G. Minisola, Italian Society of Rheumatology recommendations for the management of gout , Reumatismo: Vol. 65 No. 1 (2013)
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
