Music and Medicine: The Tragic Case of Gershwin's Brain Tumor and the Challenges of Neurosurgery in the First Half of the 20th Century

OBJECTIVE: Although neurosurgery has gone through moments of great renewal in recent decades, at the beginning of the 20th century it was still dealing with the unfathomable mysteries of the nervous system and its disorders. Historical insight improves understanding of the great personalities of the past and allows us to look at the efforts of pioneering surgeons with greater awareness. METHODS: The literature was reviewed using online databases, textbooks, and retrieved articles. RESULTS: An overview of the case of Gershwin's brain tumor and its surgical resection is presented. CONCLUSIONS: This article presents the tragic case of Gershwin's brain tumor. Through his story, it is possible to get an idea of the difficulties with which the great neuroscientists and surgeons of the past approached the human nervous system and its pathologic manifestations. The first part of this article deals with the evolution of Gershwin's disease over the years and the subsequent brain surgery. In the second part, general considerations on the most striking symptoms experienced by the composer are reported, as well as a description of the different hypotheses on the nature of Gershwin's tumor.