Female satyriasis in Amato Lusitano (on curatio 6.97)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze the curatio 97 of the 6^th Centuria written by the physician Amatus Lusitanus (1511-1568). The patient is a prioress of a convent who suffers from “satyriasis” or “uterinus furor”, a delirium caused by sexual abstinence. The author examines her symptoms and applies palliative treatment, referring to the classical sources on the topic. Nevertheless, as pointed out, Amatus distinguishes between this disease and the suffocatio matricis, a female condition caused by absence of sex with a well-established tradition in medieval medical literature.