The word epilepsy is derived from the Greek word epilambanein, meaning “to seize.” This term came to embody the disease as early descriptions characterized seizures as events in which the faculties of the mind and body were “seized” from the individual. This notion of seizing the mind and body’s faculties has in essence remained a constant throughout the evolution of epilepsy. The theories elucidating the significance of the event, however, have surely shifted with the times, reflecting an elegant battle among magic, science, and theology. Subsequent advents in clinical observation, diagnostic evaluation, and therapeutics unfurled many mysteries of the brain and revolutionized prevailing theories, landing epilepsy as it is known today far beyond the primitive and highly supernatural notions that predominated in antiquity.

中文翻译：

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停止过时的观念：讲述癫痫的早期和演变史

癫痫这个词源自希腊语 Epilambanein，意思是“抓住”。这个术语来体现这种疾病，因为早期的描述将癫痫发作描述为从个体“夺取”身心机能的事件。在癫痫的整个演变过程中，这种控制身心功能的概念在本质上一直保持不变。然而，阐明这一事件意义的理论确实随着时代的发展而变化，反映了魔法、科学和神学之间的一场优雅的战斗。随后出现的临床观察、诊断评估和治疗方法揭示了大脑的许多奥秘，并彻底改变了流行的理论，使今天已知的癫痫症远远超出了古代占主导地位的原始和高度超自然的概念。