[The cultural meaning of cerebral aneurysm and its treatment for the patient and his family: an ethnographic study].

This is a descriptive ethnographic study with 13 patients with cerebral aneurysm and their relatives aiming at understanding the meaning of the illness and the treatment. The data were collected by interviews and observations during the hospitalization and, after the discharge, in the outpatient clinic and at home. The central theme obtained from the study was "It had to be for me! God knows what He does". This theme reveals a religious interpretation for the illness and a magic basis for its cure. Thus, cerebral aneurysm is interpreted as a material illness (body) and a spiritual illness (soul).