An early image of hemifacial spasm: Edouard Brissaud contribution.

Edouard Brissaud (1852-1909) was a French neuropsychiatrist of the Charcot school who provided in 1893 the first picture of a patient suffering from hemifacial spasm. Brissaud already suggested several possible etiologies for the involuntary movements of his patient, including the possibility of arterial malformations compressing the origin of the facial nerve. We also discuss the role of other early European authors (Schültze, Gowers, Babinski, and Negro) who contributed to the definition of hemifacial spasm in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.