128 



HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY 



In 1890 a new doctrine of localization, almost unrelated 

 to the old, had gained general acceptance. At present 

 there is another reaction; the tone of most writers is 

 cautious and conservative. We can deal only very 

 briefly with these pendular movements of scientific 

 thought. 



The old teaching is remembered under the name of 



FIG. 32. The human cerebrum is sketched from the left side. 

 The crosses are sprinkled on the area from which the muscles of the 

 right half of the body appear to be governed. This area extends out of 

 sight over the top of the brain and dips into the fissure between the two 

 hemispheres. 



Phrenology. The early advocates of localization busied 

 themselves with attempts to correlate the character and 

 accomplishments of men with the forms of their heads, 

 assuming rather rashly that the shape of the brain can be 

 accurately judged from the contours of the skull. They 

 came to believe that numerous subdivisions of the 

 cerebrum must exist, each standing for a mental char- 

 acteristic. The idea is that of so-called " bumps." 

 Phrenologic diagrams show how far their makers believed 

 the analysis could be carried. The inferences drawn 

 became more and more far-fetched until the school fell 

 wholly into disrepute. 

 The conception of a cerebrum having its surface 



