Medicine in stamps: History of epilepsy (the sacred disease) through philately

It is not wrong to say that the history of epilepsy is intervened with the history of humanity. indeed,the disease of epilepsy has existed for thousands of years but only in the past hundred years it has begun to be understood. epilepsy is the most common serious brain disorder,but it is often surrounded by prejudice and myth; and was even considered a “sacred disease” for a long time in ancient times. some historical outlines may help understand the origins of such prejudice. only in the 19th century,the enlightenment began to change the way epilepsy was looked at,and epilepsy was once again believed to be a natural disease and this time the theory was widely accepted. without the benefit of modern science to allow theories to develop or the ability to research the nature of the brain,epilepsy would have still been misunderstood. this paper provides an overview on the discovery and understanding of epilepsy through philately. © 2016,ege university press. all rights reserved.