96 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. V., No. 104. 



every thing useful. In addition to the attendance 

 upon the prescribed gymnastic exercises, it is found 

 that a large proportion of the students, of their own 

 accord, make use of the facilities here afforded for 

 the acquirement of a complete physical development, 

 and the maintenance of good health. 



Not among the least of the far-reaching results of 

 the work of this department is the uniform series of 

 vital statistics obtained from all students of the in- 

 stitution, and which consist of a permanent record 

 of certain bodily measurements and tests of the vital 

 organs made three times during the course of the 

 student at college. Since the inception of the de- 

 partment, nearly three thousand different men have 

 been measured on a systematic plan, and the results 

 have already formed the basis of invaluable contri- 

 butions to anthropometry. The accompanying illus- 

 tration is reproduced from a photographic view of the 

 north front of the gymnasium. 



SCIENCE AND SURGERY: A TRIUM- 

 PHANT RESULT OF EXPERIMENTAL 

 RESEARCH. 1 



From the earliest ages, the functions of the brain 

 have been a fascinating study to cultivated minds, 

 and the greatest intellects of all ages have occupied 

 themselves in attempting to solve its difficult and 

 complicated problems. With the ancients this was a 

 favorite pursuit, and engrossed the thoughts and tal- 

 ents of their most illustrious philosophers. Owing 

 to the absence of exact methods of scientific obser- 

 vation and experiment, the conclusions on this sub- 

 ject were for many centuries of a purely speculative 

 character, and the errors and fallacies thus deduced 

 have been handed down and accepted till compara- 

 tively recent times. 



Modern investigations have, however, 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 by 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 significant, were at best 

 imperfect. That the brain should be subjected to 

 direct physiological experiment, was, until modern 

 times, never attempted. During the last generation 

 only, has the practicability of this been demonstrated ; 

 and numerous observers have, by direct operations 

 on the brain-substance of animals, arrived at new 

 conclusions as to its functions, and greatly revolu- 

 tionized 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 d iscovery of those centres 



1 Reprinted from Nature of Jan. 8. 



in the cortex which preside over voluntary motion, 

 which have been, more especially by Professor Fer- 

 rier, differentiated and localized with great precision. 

 This important knowledge has been arrived at by an 

 extended series of experiments conducted 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 have been mapped out ; but these, 

 unlike the illogical visions of the phrenologists, have 

 stood the test of sceptical criticism and rigid experi- 

 mental inquiry. 



Eesearches of a purely scientific nature, carried out 

 only with the object of elucidating truth and ad- 

 vancing knowledge, without immediate prospects of 

 material gain, have in this instance led to most im- 

 portant and useful practical advantage. Armed with 

 the knowledge acquired on animals in the laboratory, 

 the physician has been enabled to utilize at the bed- 

 side the conclusions thus arrived at for the service of 

 human beings. Clinical experience, combined with 

 morbid anatomy, had already enabled the medical 

 man to suspect the presence of disease in the brain; 

 but as to its precise locality he was formerly in doubt. 

 Now, however, guided by the recent revelations of 

 physiology, he is enabled to predict the position in a 

 large number of cases with great certainty and pre- 

 cision. 



Evidence of this is afforded by the proceeding 

 adopted 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. Hughes Bennett to diagnose a tumor of 

 the brain, that it involved its cortical substance, that 

 it was probably of limited size, and that it was situ- 

 ated at a certain definite spot. The skull 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, in a satisfactory condition. 

 He was perfectly intelligent; his functions, except 

 for certain defects of motion caused by the disease, 

 were normally performed ; and there was an absence 

 of all the distressing symptoms from which he had 

 formerly suffered, and from which he must neces- 

 sarily soon have succumbed. Unfortunately, at the 

 end of this time a complication incident to all seri- 

 ous surgical operations supervened, from which the 

 patient ultimately died. The unhappy termination 

 of this particular case does not in any way 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 utilizing 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, under mod- 

 ern antiseptic precautions, need not be attended with 

 greater danger than may folloAV any other severe sur- 

 gical injury. 



