What is "micrographia"

n. The condition of having small handwriting, sometimes a symptom of Parkinson's disease and related conditions.

Micrographia is a historically significant book by Robert Hooke about his observations through various lenses. It is particularly notable for being the first book to illustrate insects, plants etc. as seen through microscopes. Published in January 1665, the first major publication of the Royal Society, it became the first scientific best-seller, inspiring a wide public interest in the new science of microscopy. It is also notable for coining the biological term cell.

Micrographia is an acquired disorder where there is abnormally small, cramped handwriting, or the progression to continually smaller handwriting. It is commonly associated with neurodegenerative disorders of the basal ganglia, such as in Parkinson's disease, but it has also been described in subcortical focal lesions. O'Sullivan and Schmitz describe it as an abnormally small handwriting that is difficult to read, as seen in the photo to the right. Micrographia is also seen in patients with Wilson's disease and Metamorphopsia, or with isolated focal lesions of the midbrain or basal ganglia.