Guy de Maupassant: medical aspects of his lustful and creative life

The French writer Guy de Maupassant is considered one of the most important story-tellers of all times. In his short life, he produced relevant works which are full of interesting medical descriptions, as sleep palsy and unconscious memory, depicted on his famous tale The Horla. Furthermore, many of his novels and tales contain precise and very insightful descriptions of physicians, many of whom he contacted because of suffering severe migraine. Maupassant became psychotic on his last years as a result of neurosyphilis and died in an asylum. In this review, we analyze some medical aspects of his intense life and provide references of unknown medical descriptions in his works. (Rev Med Chile 2012; 140: 524-529).