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🇫🇷 France /Health & Science

A fungus and hidden kidney disease may explain Louis XIV’s fatal gangrene

From Le Figaro · () French

Translated from French and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Explainer Documents & data Context piece
  • Researchers studying a fragment of Louis XIV’s embalmed heart concluded that a rare skin infection probably contributed to his death.
  • A study in BMC Nephrology links the infection to calciphylaxis, a fatal kidney-related complication involving necrosis of blood vessels.
  • The findings offer new insight into the illness that killed the French king in 1715, more than 300 years after his death.

Louis XIV’s fatal gangrene may have begun with an invisible kidney complication rather than the sciatica doctors first suspected. Researchers examining a fragment of the French king’s embalmed heart believe a rare skin infection probably caused the final crisis.

The Sun King died on September 1, 1715, aged 76, after a 72-year reign. He had complained of pain in his left leg for less than a month. Doctors initially attributed the pain to sciatica, but by late August they diagnosed gangrene that had spread through the leg.

New research published in BMC Nephrology points to calciphylaxis as the underlying complication. The condition involves necrosis of blood vessels and may have caused a secondary infection, leading to the illness that killed him.

The study provides a new explanation for the progression from leg pain to gangrene, using evidence from the preserved fragment of the king’s heart more than three centuries after his death.

About this summary

Originally published by Le Figaro in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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