Medical Observer 
 Opinion

What killed Beethoven? Pathologist thinks he’s hit the right note

The composer's movements tell all, says Associate Professor Phil Allen, who suspects the maestro had ulcerative colitis
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18 March 2022
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Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven.

Call me old fashioned, but amid the daily grind of the pharmacy prescribing trial and Senator Hollie Hughes’ “completely self-serving” comments about GPs, one sometimes wishes for a more highbrow medical discourse: something academic, inconsequential but nonetheless intriguing.

For example, did German composer Ludwig van Beethoven have ulcerative colitis?

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