FUNCTIONS OF THE CEREBELLUM. 379 



he saw a precipice at his feet. Several physicians attributed 

 these symptoms to haemorrhoids ; for myself, I concluded 

 that there was an organic disease in the brain. Several 

 months after, the patient died, and we found on the ten to- 

 riuni a fleshy mass two inches in diameter, which had com- 

 pressed the cerebellum." 



CASE Y. In 1826, Fetiet reported a case of disease, in 

 which the cerebellum was entirely destroyed, its tissue being 

 broken down into a sort of whitish ~bouillie* The cerebrum 

 was healthy. ' The observation was made in 1796. The pa- 

 tient, before death, was observed to present a remarkable 

 tendency to walk backward. He rose from his seat with 

 difficulty, and, once erect, the first movements of the feet 

 were lateral, and he finally walked by moving the feet from 

 before backward. His locomotion consisted simply in pass- 

 ing from his own to an adjoining bed in the ward, a distance 

 of about six feet. 



CASE VI. One of the most remarkable cases, and the one 

 most frequently quoted by physiological writers, was report- 

 ed by Combette, in 1831. a This patient, Alexandrine La- 

 brosse, in her seventh year, was seen by M. Miquel. Since 

 the age of five years only had she been able to sustain her- 

 self on her feet. M. Miquel was struck with her slight de- 

 velopment and the feebleness of the extremities. At the 

 age of nine and a half years, she was admitted into the Or- 

 phelins. ""\Vhen spoken to, she answered with difficulty 

 and hesitation. Her legs, although very feeble, enabled her 

 still to walk, but she often fell." She was first seen by M. 

 Combette, in January, 1831. She had then kept the bed for 

 three months; was constantly lying on the back, nd could 

 scarcely move the legs ; she used her hands with ease. She 

 died of some intestinal disorder, March 25, 1831. On post- 



1 PETIET, Journal de physiologic, Paris, 1826, tome yi., p. 162, et seq. 



2 COMBETTE, Observation d"une jeune Jille, morte dans sa onzieme annee, chcz 

 laquelk il y avail absence complete du cervelet, dcs pedoncules posterieures et de la 

 protuberance annulaire. Journal de physiologic, Paris,. 1831, tome xi., p. 27, etseq. 



