FUNCTION'S OF THE CEREBELLUM. 715 



see that eighty-five may be thrown out altogether, leaving but eight ; and, of these eight 

 cases, five are so imperfectly described, and the disorganization of the cerebellum is so 

 restricted, that they may also be disregarded. The ninety-three cases are thus reduced 

 to three. Of these three cases, in two, it is uncertain whether or not there were defi- 

 ciency of coordinating power ; and in one, the difficulty in equilibration or coordination 

 was distinctly noted. This, we conceive, disposes of the much-quoted ninety-three cases 

 of Andral ; and they are certainly not opposed to the view that the cerebellum is the 

 organ of equilibration or muscular coordination. 



In addition to the cases collected by Andral, there are numerous other instances on 

 record of disease confined to the cerebellum, of which the following are examples : 



CASE IV. In 1826, Petiet reported a case of disease, in which the cerebellum was 

 entirely destroyed, its tissue being broken down into a sort of whitish louillie. The cere- 

 brum was healthy. The observation was made in 1796. The patient, 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 

 passing from his own to an adjoining bed in the ward, a distance of about six feet. 



CASE V. One of the most remarkable cases, and the one most frequently quoted by 

 physiological writers, was reported by Combette, in 1831. This patient, Alexandrine 

 Labrosse, in her seventh year, was seen by M. Miquel. Since the age of five years only 

 had she been able to sustain herself on her feet. M. Miquel was struck with her slight 

 development and the feebleness of the extremities. At the age of nine and a half years, 

 she was admitted into the Orphelins. "When 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, and could scarcely move the legs; 

 she used her hands with ease. She died of some intestinal disorder, March 25, 1831. On 

 post-mortem examination, " in place of the cerebellum there was a cellular membrane, 

 gelatiniform, semicircular, from eighteen to twenty lines in its transverse diameter." 

 There was no trace of the pons Yarolii. Combette states that Alexandrine Labrosse was 

 able to walk for several years, always, it is true, in an uncertain manner ; later, her legs 

 became more and more feeble, and finally she ceased to be able to sustain her weight. 

 She had the habit of masturbation. Combette farther states that this observation is not 

 in accord " with the experiments of Flourens, which tend to show that the cerebellum is 

 the regulator of movements." The encephalon was also examined by Guillot, who noted 

 absence of the cerebellum and of the pons. 



This case is somewhat imperfect, as it was not seen by Combette until the patient had 

 kept the bed for three months. By some writers, it is quoted in favor of, and by some, 

 in opposition to the view that the cerebellum coordinates the muscular movements. It 

 was not a case of simple disease of the cerebellum, as the pons and the posterior pedun- 

 cles were also absent. It was noted, before the case was seen by Combette, that the 

 patient walked in an uncertain manner and often fell. 



Several cases of injury of the cerebellum are reported by Larrefv. 



CASE VI. One case is described, in which the patient was struck by a ball from a 

 blunderbuss, which grazed the occipital protuberances. There was no disturbance of 

 movement. The patient died on the thirty-ninth day, in opisthotonos. On post-mortem 

 examination, " the occipital bone had sustained a considerable loss of substance ; the slit 

 into the dura mater, to which we have alluded, corresponded to the centre of the right 

 lobe of the cerebellum, which was sunk downward and was of a yellowish color, but free 

 from suppuration or effusion. The medulla oblongata and spinal marrow bore a dull, 

 white aspect, were of greater consistence than is natural, and had lost about a quarter of 

 their size ; the nerves arising from them appeared to us also to be in a state of atrophy 

 near their origin." 



