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Arch Intern Med. 2002;162:95.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Angina pectoris is still a topical issue. As is well known, the syndrome was first described and given its name by Heberden¹ and was later identified as a condition of the coronary arteries by Jenner.² What is less known is the straightforward, yet exhaustive description that the Italian poet Ludovico Ariosto (1474-1533) made of it in his poem "Orlando Furioso" about 200 years before. It is true that a number of scholars had already reported a condition with symptoms that resembled those of the inflammation of the fauces—for which both the Roman term "angina" and previously the Greek term "synanche" were coined—but with entirely different clinical features and outcome. In particular, one of the more vivid descriptions was that of Aretaeus of Cappadocia (about 120-200 AD).³ However, we believe that the picture described by our poet from Reggio Emilia is worthy of note for its poignant accuracy. A paladin of . . . [Full Text of this Article]