then by tracing the embryonic growth of the brain, and the interior
connections of its fibres, until we are fully prepared to judge of its
development as it lies in the skull, and to understand the relation of
each organ to all other portions. Then we can study its functions with
a clear understanding of the relations of the organs to each other,
which is the material basis of psychic science, and with full
confidence in our ability to judge and compare living heads and skulls
of man and animals.
[Illustration]
Let us take an exterior view by removing one half of the skull from
the right side of the head. This enables us to see that the front
portion of the brain rests above the sockets of the eyes, coming down
in the centre as low as the root of the nose, but a little higher
exteriorly. When we touch the forehead just over the root of the nose,
our finger touches the lowest level of the front lobe, the seat of the
intellect; but when we touch the external angle of the brow on the
same level, we touch a process of bone, and our finger is fully half
an inch below the level of the brain.
In the posterior view we see that below the great mass of brain which
is called the cerebrum there lies a smaller body, shaped much like a
small turnip, called the cerebellum or little brain, separated from
the cerebrum by a firm, horizontal membrane called the tentorium
(covering the cerebellum), on which the cerebrum rests.
[Illustration]
The position of the tentorium can easily be ascertained in your own
head by the fact that where it crosses the median line there is a
little projection of bone called the occipital knob, very prominent on
some persons, barely perceptible on others. After locating the
occipital knob, a horizontal line forward will give us the portion of
the tentorium. When we carry this line forward just over the cavity of
the ear, thus locating the tentorium, we easily recognize below it the
rounded prominence on each side in which the two hemispheres or halves
of the cerebellum lie, with a depression between them on the median
line. To make these and other observations on the head (which no one
should neglect), the hand should be placed firmly on the scalp, so
that as it slides on the bone we feel the form of the skull beneath.
In most persons a distinct depression will be felt along the line of
the tentorium, separating the cerebrum and cerebellum--the cerebellum
being located at the summit of the neck, and extending down about as
low as the end of the mastoid process, which is the large, long
prominence just behind the cavity of the ear.
The cerebellum may be regarded as the physiological and the cerebrum
as the psychic brain, for the cerebellum is void of intelligence and
volition, but has important influences on the body. It may be
considered, like the spinal cord, an intermediate structure between
the controlling and conscious brain and the corporeal organs.
The tentorium does not entirely separate it from the cerebrum, for
anteriorly it is open to permit the passage of the fibres which
connect the cerebrum with the spinal cord and the cerebellum,--fibres
which pass up midway between the right and left ear, so that a bullet
fired horizontally through from ear to ear would sever the connection
of the cerebrum with the bodily organs, producing instant death. This
will be understood by looking at the profile of the interior of the
right hemisphere, on which we see the position of the pons and the
medulla and their relation to the cerebrum by their ascending fibres.
As these ascending fibres correspond to a position just above the
cavity of the ear, and as they are the channels of all muscular
impulses, the reader will perceive that breadth of head immediately
above the cavity of the ear must be associated with muscular
impulsiveness.
The position of the cerebrum in the cranium may be best understood by
sawing the head in two horizontally, taking out the brain, and looking
down into the base of the skull, in which we see anteriorly a shelf
for the front lobes, behind which are the cavities for the middle
lobes, and behind that the rounded cavities for the cerebellum.
[Illustration]
Thus the front lobe occupies the highest plane, resting on the vault
of the sockets of the eyes, and extending back as far as the sockets.
The middle lobe lies behind the sockets of the eyes and above the
cavities of the ears, its base being as low as the bottom of the
sockets of the eyes and corresponding nearly with the upper edge of
the cheekbone, as it extends from the sockets to the side of the head
just in front of the ears. In the posterior base of the skull, the
reader will observe an opening (_foramen magnum_ or large foramen)
through which the spinal cord ascends. The spinal cord is exposed in
the neck below the foramen.
Going back, we find the middle lobe rises higher, ascending over the
cavity of the ear and resting upon the ridge of bone in which the
apparatus of hearing is situated, thus reaching the level of the
tentorium, on which the occipital lobe rests.
The bones of the cranium seen by looking down into the basis of the
skull, as above, are the frontal bone over the eyes, the sphenoid
bone, behind the sockets of the eyes, extending from the right to the
left temple, the temporal bones, forming the ridge that holds the
apparatus of hearing, and extending up about two inches on the side
head, and the occipital bone at the back, between the two temporals,
meeting the sphenoid bone in the centre of the base. The cerebellum
rests in the deep double concavities of the occipital bone, and the
spinal cord ascends through the large opening (foramen magnum) in the
middle of its base, assuming the form called the medulla oblongata.
[Illustration]
When we fully understand this view of the base of the skull, let us
look at it in profile, and observe the frontal bone connected by the
coronal suture to the parietal and the parietal by the squamous or
scaly suture to the temporal, and by the lambdoid suture to the
occipital. The sphenoid or bat-wing bone appears in the temples by its
wing, between the frontal and temporal, while in the centre of the
base its solid body is between the frontal and occipital.
The sphenoid bone is in contact with organs of sensitive delicacy,
refinement, and inspiration, the occipital with organs of vital force,
the temporal with organs of appetite, excitement, and force, the
frontal with organs of intellect and refined benevolence, the parietal
with the organs of virtue, amiability, self control, and general
strength of character, which make a superior person.
Modern anatomists do not divide the brain into front, middle, and
occipital lobes as would seem most natural, by erecting vertical lines
from their bases, but follow up the oblique courses of the
convolutions so as to extend the front lobe into the upper surface of
the brain, and extend the middle lobe from the middle of the upper
surface backward into the region of Self Confidence, giving the name
of temporo-sphenoidal to its lower portion behind the sockets of the
eyes and over the ears, which name is taken from the temporal bone,
that contains the apparatus of hearing, forming the middle of the
basis of the skull, and the sphenoid bone, which lies just back of the
sockets of the eyes, supporting the front end of the lower portion of
the middle lobe, called temporo-sphenoidal.
[Illustration]
The sphenoid bone thus sustains the region of Sensibility, while the
temporal bone lodges the organs of the most sensual, selfish, and
violent impulses, the action of which is downward into the muscular
and visceral organs of the body. The sphenoid bone as it extends up
touches the base of the front lobe and of the Ideal region, where it
assumes the name of Somnolence. (See the profile view of the cranium.)
The upper portion of the middle lobe has been given the name of
parietal, as it has a general correspondence with the parietal bones,
while the occipital lobe has a general correspondence in position with
the occipital bone, as will be seen by comparing the plan of the brain
seen in profile with the engraving of the cranium.
The _plan_ of the brain is given, instead of an engraving of the
actual convoluted surface, to simplify the study to the learner. An
examination of the brain itself or of a good model offers at first
sight such a vague and irregular mass of convolutions, differing so
much in different brains, that any systematic arrangement would seem
impossible. But by studying the subject more extensively and
considering the structure of the simpler brains of animals, in which
the complexity of the human brain is reduced to simpler forms, a mode
of grouping and classifying the convolutions has been adopted by
anatomists which is illustrated by the engraving, in which we see, not
the numerous convolutions of a well developed human brain, but the
groups in which they have been arranged by the aid of comparative
anatomy.
The front lobe is grouped into the superior, middle, and inferior
convolutions, or groups of convolutions, and the ascending frontal;
but the inspection of a brain would show an irregularity of forms in
which a casual observer would be puzzled to trace this arrangement.
The appearance of the brain, divested of its membranes, when we look
upon its superior surface, is shown in the annexed engraving, in which
it is presented as it lies in the head when the cranium and membranes
are removed which form the rim of the figure. The front lobe is the
upper portion, and the outline of the nose is just visible. In the
full exposition of this subject hereafter in a larger work, I propose
to show the exact seats of the various functions in the convolutions,
which are much more irregular than the angular figures we make on the
surface of the head to show the average positions of organs. Of course
no intelligent person supposes the psychological maps and busts of the
organs to be representations of the brain, or anything more than
approximations to the true interior organology, which, however, do not
lead to any great error, as adjacent portions of convolutions have
very analogous functions.
[Illustration]
When we place the brain on its upper surface and inspect the bottom,
we observe at the back the cerebellum, which dips into the neck, the
middle lobe, which is over the ears and the side face, and the front
lobe, which rests over the eyes.
We observe posteriorly the medulla oblongata, on the face of which we
may observe the crossing of the fibres, and on the side of which we
observe the origins of many nerves. Above the medulla we observe the
pons Varolii, just above which we observe the fibres ascending to each
hemisphere under the name of _crus cerebri_, or thigh of the cerebrum.
Next we see the optic nerves crossing on the median line, the
olfactory nerve, running under the front lobe, which is separated by
the fissure of Sylvius from the middle lobe. There is also a glimpse
of the corpus callosum at its anterior end, obtained by pulling the
front lobes apart at the median line.
[Illustration]
Let us next cut through the head exactly on the median line, dividing
the right and left hemispheres, and look at the inner face of the
right hemisphere. We observe that it has convolutions, just like the
exterior surface, which do not join across the median line, but are
separated from those of the left hemisphere by a firm membrane (an
extension of the dura mater or principal investing membrane) called
the falx, which is removed, leaving the convolutions in view.
The reader will observe that it is only in the lower portion of the
engraving that he sees any surfaces produced by cutting to separate
the right and left halves of the brain. It is by these structures
which are here divided that the right and left halves are connected,
so that the whole brain is adapted to acting in a unitary manner.
The first section we encounter as we pass down is that of the _corpus
callosum_, a body of white fibre firmer than the external surface of
the brain, and therefore called the corpus callosum or callous body,
which consists of white nerve fibres gathered in from nearly all parts
of the brain on each side and crossing the median line. We may regard
it as a mass of representative fibres rooted in the soft substance of
the convolutions or gray matter of the brain generally, and thus
connecting across the median line the corresponding parts of the right
and left brain.
[Illustration]
It must be borne in mind that the brain like the body is double, and
that every organ is fully developed in each brain, so that no amount
of injury or paralysis of organs would deprive us of any faculty,
unless corresponding parts were destroyed in each hemisphere.
The left brain governs the right half of the body, and the right brain
governs the left half, the connecting fibres having their crossing
(called decussation) in the spinal cord. Hence the left brain is
usually more fully developed in the occipital and basilar regions than
the right, in right handed people, as may frequently be detected by a
careful examination of the head, or an inspection of the interior the
skull. The left brain, also, seems to have a general ascendency over
the right; so that paralysis of speech is most generally produced by
disease in the region of language on the left side.
Whatever occurs on one side of the body is in relation to the opposite
side of the head. Paralysis, if not dependent on the spinal cord, is
dependent on the basilar region of the opposite side of they brain;
and conditions of the right eye affect the lower margin of the left
front lobe, in which the perceptive organs are situated.
If we thrust our fingers into the brain immediately under the corpus
callosum, pushing away the delicate little structure called the
_septum lucidum_ (or translucent septum), and pressing down fornix
(which is a thin, horizontal nerve membrane) we find that our fingers
enter a cavity by pressing its walls apart, of which the corpus
callosum is the vault or roof,--a cavity which may be explored back
and forth, far into the interior of the occipital lobe within an inch
of the surface, and far into the front lobe, near the surface of the
frontal convolutions, as well as downwards and forwards into the
bottom of the middle lobe (the part called temporo-sphenoidal). These
extensions of this great cavity or ventricle are called the anterior
and posterior horns (_cornua_) and the descending horn (_cornu_).
Their importance arises from the fact that in these ventricles of the
right and left sides of the brain a watery fluid, effused from the
blood, called serum, exists, which also extends downward along the
spinal cord, and which has to do with the pressure and equilibrium of
the various parts. When there is a strong pressure of blood to the
brain on account of its unusual activity, especially in the activity
of the emotions, the serum of the ventricles and also in the substance
of the brain is absorbed, and the brain acquires a more compact
texture, which is found in all persons of strong mentality, the brain
being hardened by exercise, as well as the muscles. But when the
action of the brain is feeble, and the blood in an impoverished
condition, there is a greater tendency to the exudation of fluid; the
substance of the brain is thereby softened, and serum, to the extent
of one or more ounces, is frequently found in the ventricles,
especially when the brain is much impaired by disease of its
substance. In some cases of hydrocephalus pints of serum are effused,
distending the brain and head enormously, and in many cases of
insanity the ventricles and membranes of the brain are distended with
serum. "Pritchard on Insanity" speaks of this distention of the
ventricles, which were "very full of serum" in twenty-nine out of a
hundred cases, and "in twenty-three ready to burst," and "in ten among
twenty-four melancholies astonishingly distended." Dr. Spurzheim
dissected a case of hydrocephalus, child of eighteen months, with two
and a half pounds of water in the membranes of the brain; and James
Cardinal, who died at the age of thirty years in London, had a pint of
water in the lateral ventricles, and about nine pints between the
brain and its membranes.
BUSINESS DEPARTMENT.
[Hand pointing right] _The first two numbers of the_ JOURNAL _were
unavoidably delayed. The May number will appear in advance of the
month._
The BUSINESS DEPARTMENT of the Journal deserves the attention of all
its readers, as it will be devoted to matters of general interest and
real value. The treatment of the opium habit by Dr. Hoffman is
original and successful. Dr. Hoffman is one of the most gifted members
of the medical profession. The electric apparatus of D. H. Fitch is
that which I have found the most useful and satisfactory in my own
practice. Mr. Fitch has recently perfected certain improvements in the
Galvanic Battery, which enables him to furnish the best and cheapest
which has ever been offered by any manufacturer. The _American
Spectator_, edited by Dr. B. O. Flower, is conducted with ability and
good taste, making an interesting family paper, containing valuable
hygienic and medical instruction, at a remarkably low price. It is
destined to have a very extensive circulation. I have written several
essays in commendation of the treatment of disease by oxygen gas, and
its three compounds, nitrous oxide, per-oxide and ozone. What is
needed for its general introduction is a convenient portable
apparatus. This is now furnished by Dr. B. M. Lawrence, at Hartford,
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information in his pamphlet on that subject. He can be consulted free
of charge.
Dr. W. F. Richardson of 875 Washington Street is one of the most
successful practitioners we have, as any one will realize who employs
him. Without specifying his numerous cases I would merely mention that
he has recently cured in a single treatment an obstinate case of
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Lowell.
Dr. K. MEYENBERG, who is the Boston agent for Oxygen Treatment, is a
most honorable, modest, and unselfish gentleman, whose superior
natural powers as a magnetic healer have been demonstrated during
eighteen years' practice in Washington City. Some of his cures have
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physician.
* * * * *
College of Therapeutics.
The large amount of scientific and therapeutic knowledge developed by
recent discoveries, but not yet admitted into the slow-moving medical
colleges, renders it important to all young men of liberal minds--to
all who aim at the highest rank in their profession--to all who are
strictly conscientious and faithful in the discharge of their duties
to patients under their care, to have an institution in which their
education can be completed by a preliminary or a post-graduate course
of instruction.
The amount of practically useful knowledge of the healing art which is
absolutely excluded from the curriculum of old style medical colleges
is greater than all they teach--not greater than the adjunct sciences
and learning of a medical course which burden the mind to the
exclusion of much useful therapeutic knowledge, but greater than all
the curative resources embodied in their instruction.
The most important of these therapeutic resources which have sometimes
been partially applied by untrained persons are now presented in the
College of Therapeutics, in which is taught not the knowledge which is
now represented by the degree of M. D., but a more profound knowledge
which gives its pupils immense advantages over the common graduate in
medicine.
Therapeutic Sarcognomy, a science often demonstrated and endorsed by
able physicians, gives the anatomy not of the physical structure, but
of the vital forces of the body and soul as located in every portion
of the constitution--a science vastly more important than physical
anatomy, as the anatomy of life is more important than the anatomy of
death. Sarcognomy is the true basis of medical practice, while anatomy
is the basis only of operative surgery and obstetrics.
Indeed, every magnetic or electric practitioner ought to attend such a
course of instruction to become entirely skilful in the correct
treatment of disease.
In addition to the above instruction, special attention will be given
to the science and art of Psychometry--the most important addition in
modern times to the practice of medicine, as it gives the physician
the most perfect diagnosis of disease that is attainable, and the
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cure" practitioners will also be philosophically explained.
The course of instruction will begin on Monday, the 2d of May, and
continue six weeks. The fee for attendance on the course will be $25.
To students who have attended heretofore the fee will be $15. For
further information address the president,
JOSEPH RODES BUCHANAN, M. D.
6 JAMES ST., BOSTON.
The sentiments of those who have attended these courses of instruction
during the last eight years were concisely expressed in the following
statement, which was unanimously signed and presented to Dr. Buchanan
by those attending his last course in Boston.
"The undersigned, attendant upon the seventh session of the College of
Therapeutics, have been delighted with the profound and wonderful
instructions received, and as it is the duty of all who become
acquainted with new truths of great importance to the world, to assist
in their diffusion, we offer our free and grateful testimony in the
following resolutions:
"_Resolved_, That the lectures and experiments of Prof. Buchanan have
not only clearly taught, but absolutely demonstrated, the science of
Sarcognomy, by experiments in which we were personally engaged, and in
which we cannot possibly have been mistaken.
"_Resolved_, That we regard Sarcognomy as the most important addition
ever made to physiological science by any individual, and as the basis
of the only possible scientific system of Electro-Therapeutics, the
system which we have seen demonstrated in all its details by Prof.
Buchanan, producing results which we could not have believed without
witnessing the demonstration.
"_Resolved_, That Therapeutic Sarcognomy is a system of science of the
highest importance, alike to the magnetic healer, to the
electro-therapeutist, and to the medical practitioner,--giving great
advantages to those who thoroughly understand it, and destined to
carry the fame of its discoverer to the remotest future ages."
* * * * *
The "Chlorine" Galvanic and Faradic Batteries.
APPARATUS AND MATERIALS.
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D. H. FITCH,
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* * * * *
THE SPIRITUAL OFFERING,
LARGE EIGHT-PAGE, WEEKLY JOURNAL, DEVOTED TO THE ADVOCACY OF
SPIRITUALISM IN ITS RELIGIOUS, SCIENTIFIC, AND HUMANITARIAN ASPECTS.
COL. D. M. FOX, Publisher.
D. M. & NETTIE P. FOX .... EDITORS.
EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS.
Prof. Henry Kiddle, No. 7 East 130th St., New York City.
"Ouina," through her medium, Mrs. Cora L. V. Richmond, 64 Union Park
Place, Chicago, Ill.
Among its contributors will be found our oldest and ablest writers. In
it will be found Lectures, Essays upon Scientific, Philosophical, and
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A Young Folks' Department has recently been added, edited by _Ouina_,
through her medium, Mrs. Cora L. V. Richmond; also a Department, "THE
OFFERING'S School for Young and Old," A. Danforth, of Boston, Mass.,
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