Trigeminal Neuralgia and Multiple Sclerosis: A Historical Perspective

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) was first described in Lehrbuch der Nervenkrankheiten fur Arzte und Studirende in 1894 by Hermann Oppenheim, including a pathologic description of trigeminal root entry zone demyelination. Early English-language translations in 1900 and 1904 did not so explicitly state this association compared with the German editions. The 1911 English-language translation described a more direct association. Other later descriptions were clinical with few pathologic reports, often referencing Oppenheim but citing the 1905 German or 1911 English editions of Lehrbuch. This discrepancy in part may be due to the translation differences of the original text.