Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/557

Rh his great discoveries in the physiology of the nervous system. In 1807 Bell first published his idea of a new anatomy of the brain, in which he announced the discovery of the different functions of the nerves corresponding with their relations to different parts of the brain. It is now difficult to imagine the confusion which prevailed in the minds of anatomists and physiologists regarding the functions of the various nerves prior to this discovery. The nerves had been noticed by anatomists from the earliest times, and they were divided into cranial and spinal nerves, according as they originated from the brain or spinal cord. Some were supposed to carry from the brain the mandates of the will, while others communicated to the sensorium impres sions made on their extremities, which resulted in con sciousness. It was supposed, however, that the same nerve, even at the same time, might in some mysterious way transmit either motor or sensory impressions in opposite directions. When a nerve was cut, the parts beyond the incision were found to be destitute of sensibility, and to be beyond the influence of the will. It was con sequently correctly inferred to be the cord through which volition acted on the muscles, and through which sensory impressions were transmitted to the sensorium. The idea of two sets of filaments functionally different in the same nerve was not then entertained. Boerhaave asserted that there were two kinds of spinal nerves, the one serving for motion and the other for the use of the senses. Haller states, &quot; I know not a nerve which has sensation without also producing motion.&quot; The first Monro held a similar opinion, and he believed all those spinal nerves which passed through a ganglion to be motor nerves. {{ti|1em|To Sir Charles Bell we owe the discovery that in the nervous trunks there are special sensory filaments, the office of which is to transmit impressions from the periphery of the body to the sensorium, and special motor filaments which convey motor impressions from the brain or other nerve centre to the muscles. He also showed that some nerves consist entirely of sensory filaments and are there fore sensory nerves, that others are composed of motor filaments and are therefore motor nerves, whilst a third variety contain both kinds of filaments and are therefore to be regarded as sensory-motor. Furthermore, he indicated that the brain and spinal cord may be divided into separate parts, each part having a special function one part mini stering to motion, the other to sensation, and that the origin of the nerves from one or other or both of those sources endows them with the peculiar property of the division whence they spring. He also demonstrated that no motor nerve ever passes through a ganglion. Lastly, he showed both from theoretical considerations and from the result of actual experiment on the living animal, that the anterior roots of the spinal nerves are motor, while the posterior are sensory. These discoveries as a whole must be regarded as the greatest in physiology since that of the circulation of the blood by the illustrious Harvey. It not only was a distinct and definite advance in scientific know ledge, but from it flowed many practical results of much importance in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. It is not surprising that Bell should have announced it to his friends with exultation. On 2Gth Xovember 1807 we find him writing as follows to his brother George : &quot; I have done a more interesting nova anatomia cerebri humani than it is possible to conceive. I lectured it yesterday. I pro secuted it last night till one o clock ; and I am sure it will be well received. &quot; On the 31st of the same month he writes &quot; I really think this new anatomy of the brain will strike more than the discover} 7 of the lymphatics being absorbents.&quot;}} In 1807 he produced a System of Comparative Surgery founded on the basis of anatomy. This work indicates the author s idea of the science of surgery. He regarded it almost wholly from an anatomical and operative point of view, and there is little or no mention of the use of medicinal substances. It placed him, however, in the highest rank of English writers on surgery. In 1809 he relinquished his professional work in London, and rendered meritorious services to the wounded from Coruiia, who w r ere brought to the Haslar Hospital at Portsmouth. In 1810 he published a series of Letters concerning the Diseases of the Urethra, in which he treated of stricture from an anatomical and pathological point of view. In 1812 he was appointed surgeon to the Middlesex Hospital, and a few years afterwards professor of anatomy, physiology, and surgery to the College of Surgeons of London. He was also for many years teacher of anatomy in the school of Great Windmill Street, no longer in exist ence. He acted as surgeon to the hospital for twenty-four years, and delivered many courses of lectures on surgery in that institution. In 1815 he did good public service by devoting all his skill and time to the wounded after the battle of Waterloo. On the formation of University College, Gower Street, he w r as asked to place himself at the head of the medical department. This appointment he held for only a short time, when he resigned in conse quence, it is said, of dissensions in the senate. In 1816, 1817, 1818, he published a series of Quarterly Reports of Cases in Surgery, treated in the Middlesex Hospital, in the Cancer Establishment, and in Private Practice, embracing an Account of the Anatomical and Pathological Researches in the School of Windmill Street. In 1821 he issued a volume of coloured plates with descriptive letterpress, entitled Illustrations of the Great Operations of Surgery, Trepan, Hernia, Amputation, and Lithotomy. In 1824 appeared An Exposition of the Natural System of Nerves of the Human Body; being a RepiMica- tion of the Papers delivered to the Royal Society on the subject of the Nerves. In the same year he wrote Observa tions on Injuries of the Spine and of the Thigh Bone. In 1832 he wrote a paper for the Royal Society of London on the &quot; Organs of the Human Voice,&quot; in which he gave many illustrations of the physiological action of these parts. Of an eminently pious and reflective mind, he was often in the habit of pointing out in his lectures what he regarded as evidences of creative design to be found in the anatomy of the bodies of animals. These he embodied in a treatise on Animal Mechanics, written for the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. The executors of the earl of Bridgewater selected him as a fit person to main tain the argument which it was the purpose of that noble man s bequest to have published. Sir Charles wrote in 1833 The Hand: its Mechanism and Vital Endowments as evincing Design. Along with Lord Brougham he anno tated and illustrated an edition of Paley s Natural Theo logy, published in 1836, in which he followed out his favourite line of thought. The Royal Society of London awarded to him in 182b the first annual medal of that year given by George IV. for discoveries in science ; and when William IV. ascended the throne, Charles Bell received the honour of knighthood along with a few other men distinguished in science and literature. The chair of surgery in the University of Edinburgh was offered to him in 1836. When the offer was made he was regarded as one of the foremost scientific men in London, and he had a large surgical practice. But his opinion was &quot; London is a place to live in, but not to die in ; &quot; and he accepted the appointment. In Edinburgh he did not earn great local professional success ; and, it must be confessed,