Page:Science vol. 5.djvu/110

 IVoL. T., Ko. lOKlj

��every lliinfe' ilsefuT. In adilJMoii to the atteuiiaiice upou the prescrihed gymnaatlp eiercisea, it is found that n lai^e propnrlioii iif Ihe students, of their own accord, mnke ui^c of the faclllLio:! here iifFordei) foi- the acquirement of a complcie pliysical ileveloimieiit, anil llie maintenance uf good lieallli.

Not among the least of the far-reacliing reauHs of the work of this department is the iinifflrm series of vital statisUcs obtained from all students nf the in- stitution, and which consist of a permanent record of certain bodily mea^nrements and lesUi of the vita] organs made three limes dnriiig the course of the student at college. Since the Inception of the de- partment, nearly three thousand different men Iiave been measured on a Eyslematic plan, and the results have already farmed the basis of Invaluable contri- butions to anthropometry. The accompanying illus- Iralioii is reproduced from a photographic view of ilic north front of the gymnasium.

��SCIENCE AND SURGERY.- A TBIIIM-

PHANT RESULT OF EXPERIMENTAL

RESEARCH.'

KiWM ilie earliest ages, the functions of the brain iiave been a fascinating study to cultivated miiidti. and the greatest Intellects of ail ages have occupied ihenxeives In attempting to solve lis difficult and complicated problems. With the ancients this was a favorite pursuit, and engrossed the tliougtits and tal- etits of their most iUuBtiioue philosophers. Owing to the absence of exact methods of scientlBc obser- valioii and experiment, the conctusions on this sub- ject were for many centuries of a purely speculative character, and the errors and fallacies thus deduced liave Ijeen handed down and accepted till compara- tively recent limes.

Modern investigations have, liowevor. thrown a flood of light on the question; and, although much still remains In the dark, the former obscurity has of late years been brightly illumined liy the lamp of science. The accumulated clinical experience of ages had left knowledge on the cerebral functions In a state of confusion and uncertainty; and, owing to the obvious difficulties and complications associated with disease, the results, however ligniScant, were at best Imperfect. That the brain should be subjected to direct physiological experiment, was, until modern times, never attempted. DurluK the last generation only, has the practicability of this been demonstrated; and numerous observers iiave, hy direct operations on the brain-substance of animals, arrived at new conclusions as to Us functions, and greatly revolu- tionised our ancient conceptions on the subject. Evidence has also been given against the noli me tan- gere theory, and abundant proof has been adduced of the fact that the brain may be handled, irritated, or partially destroyed, without necessary danger to life.

One of the latest developments of this method of Investigation has been the discovery of those centres

> ItvpHntt'd trmn X.Uiirt of .)u>i. S.

���in the cortex which preside over voluntary motion, which have been, more especially by Profesior Fer- rler, differentiated and localized with great precisii This im[iortant knowledge has been arrived at by extended series »f experimenls coududed on living animals, in which, by observing the several effects of stimulating or destroying limited areas of their brains, the different functions of these special locali- ties have been determined. A topography of the cerebrum has thus been constructed, in which the various faculties bave been mapped out; but these,' unlike the Illogical vifions of the phrenologists, hava stood the test of sceptical criticism and rigid experi- mental inquiry.

Researches of a purely scientific nature, carried out only with the object of elucldaling truth and ad- vancing knowledge, without Immediate prospecis of material gain, have In this instance led to most portanl and useful practical advantage. Armed with (lie knowledge acquired on animals in the laboratory, the physician has been enabled to utilize at the bed- side the conclusions thus arrived at tor tha service of human tieings, (.'llnical experience, combined wlth'i morbid anatomy, had already enabled the medical' man to suspect the pres-'tioe of disease In the brain; but as to Us precise locality he was formerly in doubt. Now, however, guided by the recent revelations of physiology, he is enableil to predict the poaltioD iu a large number of cases with great certainty and pre-

Bvidenco of this Is afforded by tile proceeding atlopled in a case of disease, notice of which has lately appeared In the medical papers. It appears that a man presented a series of symptoms which enabled Dr. Uughes Bennett to diagnose a tumor of the brain, that it involved Its cortical substance, that It was probably of limited size, and that <I was situ- ated at a certain definite spot. The skutt was tre- phined over the suspected region: there a tumor was found and removed. On recovering from the Imme- diate effects of the operation, the patient was, and continued for three weeks, hi a satisfactory condiUan. He was perfectly intulligenl: his functloi for certain defects of motion caused by the dlse«M»,1 were normally performed; and there was an absent of all the distressing symptoms from which he formerly suffered, and from which he must sarlly soon have succumbed. Unforiunalely, at end of this time a complication incident 1 ous Hurgieal operations supervened, from which the patient ultimately died. The unh.ippy terminatlou of this particular ease does not In any nay detract from the importance of the principles which It in- volves. It still remains a signal triumph of diagnos- tic accuracy, — a precision mainly attained by exact experimental research. It is, moreover, further proof, that, by ullllilng this Improved knowledge, the sur- geon may not only remove disease from the brain, but may do so without necessary shock or risk to the nervous system; and that the procedure, imder mod- ern antiseptic precautions, need not be attended with greater danger than may follow any other severe sur- gical Injury.

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