“Grand rounds” evolved early in the history of neurology, and patients are still frequently presented in person at neurology clinical meetings. The most celebrated grand rounds were led by Jean-Martin Charcot (1825–93) at the Salpêtrière in Paris, now immortalised in art by André Brouillet (fig 1). In the weekly “Leçons du Mardi”, Charcot presented a patient to a large audience including not only hospital staff but also members of the general public. Although never evaluated formally, feelings about Charcot’s grand rounds were mixed:


 Some considered the Salpêtrière public “exhibitions” of hysterical women patients in a state of partial nudity (and seemingly stripped as well of conventional Victorian inhibitions on comportment and speech) to go beyond the acceptable conventions of clinical demonstrations. In contrast to the silence on this issue on the part of the medical profession, condemnation came from the Church and from defenders of women. Unfortunately, the patients themselves left little direct evidence.¹

These days, clinical meetings are of course confidential, and allow clinicians to present challenging diagnostic and management issues, or educate trainees (and, indeed, other consultants) about clinical neurology.^2,3 But, despite the passage of more than a century since Charcot’s grand rounds, there are no published data on what patients …