A Historical Vignette “Be proud of yourself: you have a History!” History of Osteogenesis Imperfecta or Brittle Bone Disease: a few stops on a road 3000 years long

Abstract

History of Osteogenesis Imperfecta or Brittle Bone Disease: a few stops on a road 3000 years long. The attested history of osteogenesis imperfecta began three thousand years ago and it continues down to the present day. Through the centuries, we find a dislocated mummy of a child of Ancient Egypt, a young Arab named Satib, a Viking prince known as “Boneless”, a subject of Louis XIV with a broken skeleton and finally, in the 20th century, a young deaf mother with blue sclerotics and a jazz pianist unable to walk except on crutches… Without being exhaustive, this review of contrasting cases attests to the universality and to the permanency of this disease.