Swelling of the arteries of the extremities is an old disease and has been first reported in ancient Egyptian and
Indian texts. The term ‘aneurysm’ has been introduced in the first century by Ruphus from Ephesus. From
the beginning, distinction was made between spontaneous and posttraumatic aneurysms. Spontaneous aneurysms
were mostly considered to be related to debilitation due to exertion. While the majority of traumatic
aneurysms were due to accidental pricking of an artery during bloodletting.
Arterial aneurysms of the aorta and its side branches were first reported in the 16th century. However, it has
to be taken into consideration that post-mortem exams were not done before the Renaissance. Most aortic
aneurysms were saccular, eroding the neighbouring organs. This is typical for syphilitic aneurysms. However,
although suspected, syphilis has not been recognized as the primary cause of aortic aneurysm until the end
of the 19th century. In the mean time, fusiform ‘degenerative atherosclerotic’ aneurysms, especially on the
abdominal aorta, became more frequent. It is now generally accepted that the cause of this aneurysm is
multifactorial and exciting scientific research is actually done to elucidate this complex pathology.Swelling of the arteries of the extremities is an old disease and has been first reported in ancient Egyptian and
Indian texts. The term ‘aneurysm’ has been introduced in the first century by Ruphus from Ephesus. From
the beginning, distinction was made between spontaneous and posttraumatic aneurysms. Spontaneous aneurysms
were mostly considered to be related to debilitation due to exertion. While the majority of traumatic
aneurysms were due to accidental pricking of an artery during bloodletting.
Arterial aneurysms of the aorta and its side branches were first reported in the 16th century. However, it has
to be taken into consideration that post-mortem exams were not done before the Renaissance. Most aortic
aneurysms were saccular, eroding the neighbouring organs. This is typical for syphilitic aneurysms. However,
although suspected, syphilis has not been recognized as the primary cause of aortic aneurysm until the end
of the 19th century. In the mean time, fusiform ‘degenerative atherosclerotic’ aneurysms, especially on the
abdominal aorta, became more frequent. It is now generally accepted that the cause of this aneurysm is
multifactorial and exciting scientific research is actually done to elucidate this complex pathology