Encephalon

“ The state of the encephalon in those patients in whom spurious hydrocephalus occurs is interesting. In protracted cases of the diarrhoea the brain wastes like the body and limbs. In the young infant, in whom the cranial bones are still ununited, the occipital and sometimes the frontal bones become depressed and overlapped by the parietal, the depression being of course proportionate to the diminution in size of the encephalon. ”

“ Gall believed that the intelligence was seated indifferently in the whole encephalon, and it has been proved that it resides only in the hemispheres.
Further, it is not the encephalon taken en masse that is developed in the ratio of the intelligence of the creature, but the hemispheres. The mammifera are the animals most highly endowed with intelligence; they have, other things being equal, the most voluminous hemispheres. Birds are the animals most highly endowed with power of motion; their cerebellum is, other things being equal, the largest. ”

“ It should be remembered, moreover, that the functional activity of the sensorial tract of the encephalon is an absolute necessity of animal existence; and that, in men and brutes alike, it is provided for by an energetic tendency to spontaneous development under the influence of its appropriate excitants. In what may be termed the natural life, a blind submission to the promptings of sensations, present or remembered, would in all ordinary cases supply the wants, or gratify the passions of man. ”

“ Antecedently to the time of Gall, both Sœmmerring and Cuvier, in the comparative anatomy of the various classes of animals, had investigated the ratio existing between the development of the encephalon and that of the intellectual power. ”

“ Tubercle of the encephalon has been little noticed in the lower animals, partly because it is especially a disease of early life, while animals usually contract tubercle later in life, and partly because subjective symptoms are inappreciable, and the cranium is seldom opened in post mortem examinations. As the affection usually appears as a secondary deposit, the tubercles elsewhere go a long way toward identifying the nature of the disease in the brain. ”

“ The sensational and intellectual functions of the human brain are not only distinct, but also in some degree antagonistic, through the application of the ordinary law of nutrition to their respective organs. The portions of the encephalon that are most employed will receive the largest supply of blood, and will be the seats of the most vigorous cell-growth, precisely as the same rule will apply to the development of muscle ”

“ The models of these, whether plaster or papier-maché, are poor substitutes for the real specimens. Nor need the number be very large; a dozen species would fairly illustrate the modifications of the vertebrate encephalon.
Speaking of brains, we cannot forbear expressing the hope that Prof. Ward may shortly be able to impress his clients with the truth of Prof Wyman's saying that "a skull is doubled in value by cutting in two." The inside is quite as important as the outside, while such vertical bisection, if carefully made, enables us to secure the two halves of the brain but little injured. ”

“ The same practice is applied to the serous tissues, but with less success; its proximity to organs eminently putrescible, such as the brain, the lungs, the liver, renders its dissolution more imminent, more difficult to prevent.
“6. Encephalon, spinal marrow, nerves.—We have already spoken of the property of nitric acid, to give consistency to the nerves, without causing them to lose any thing of their pearly whiteness. Anatomists generally avail themselves, for the preservation of the whole nervous system, of the alcoholic solution of corrosive sublimate. ”

“ The cerebellum has certainly a powerful action on salacity; but we shall see that each part of the genital apparatus exercises one equally great; and that, consequently, the organic principle of the state of rutting, and of venereal excesses, cannot be sought for solely in the encephalon.
In consequence of Gall’s opinions, many authors, among whom we will mention Chauffard, Voisin, and 182 Londe, have thought it necessary, in order to subdue too great a degree of amativeness, to make applications directly to the cerebellum. ”

“ Fantastic monsters, such as acephalon, paracephalon, cyclops, pseudencephalon, and the janiceps, prosopthoracopagus, disprosopus, etc., although full of interest, will not be discussed here, as none are ever viable for any length of time, and the declared intention of this chapter is to include only those beings who have lived. ”

“ Shaft swollen at middle, slightly sinuate ventrally, dorsally sclerotized except for moderate-length ostium; in ventral aspect tapered toward rather rounded apex, in lateral aspect, a rounded apex. Parameres: left large and broad, right small and lobed; apex of left paramere lobate much longer than right paramere, about two-thirds the length of shaft (measured in left lateral aspect) . Endophallus with one preapical spine. Female genitalia. Not investigated, presumably similar to that of Asklepia demiti sp. ”

“ Though the separation of the monotremes and marsupials from all the others as a distinct group (Lyencephala) is capable of vindication, the three other sub-classes, Lissencephala, Gyrencephala, and Archencephala, grade so imperceptibly into each other that their distinction as sub-classes cannot be maintained. The proposed definition of the distinguishing characters of the brain of man (Archencephala) from that of other mammals gave rise to a somewhat acute controversy, the echoes of which reached beyond the realms of purely scientific literature. ”

“ Chapter XIII.—Ecphantus; His Scepticism; Tenet of Infinity.
One Ecphantus, a native of Syracuse, affirmed that it is not possible to attain a true knowledge of things. He defines, however, as he thinks, primary bodies to be indivisible, [1] and that there are three variations of these, viz., bulk, figure, capacity, from which are generated the objects of sense. But that there is a determinable multitude of these, and that this is infinite. [2] And that bodies are moved neither by weight nor by impact, but by divine power, which he calls mind and soul ”

“ The whole organ is best developed in Sphenodon, even in the adult; but whether it is still functional, and what its function is, remain unknown. The throwing of a beam of light upon this eye, by means of a lens, produces no effect. Whilst in Sphenodon the “lens” is rather dull and the efferent nerve is still present, in various lizards the “lens” is more perfect, but the nerve is degenerated. We conclude that the whole organ is now without the least visual function, whilst in various extinct groups of reptiles and Stegocephali it was fully developed. ”

“ The Acanthocephala are dioecious; their generative organs are developed in connexion with the ligament, a cord-like structure which arises between the inner and outer layer of the hinder end of the proboscis sheath and traverses the body-cavity, ending posteriorly in connexion with the genital ducts. The testes lie in this ligament; they are paired oval bodies which open each into a vas deferens. The vasa deferentia each bear three lateral diverticula, the vesiculae seminales; and three pairs of cement glands pour their secretion into a duct which opens into the vasa deferentia ”

“ The Views of Asclepiades with Regard to Physiology and Pathology.—The human body, according to the philosophy of Asclepiades, is composed of atoms—that is, small bodies which are invisible, have no definable quality, are in continual motion, through mutual pressure undergo modifications in form, and break up into innumerable smaller fragments or particles that differ both in size and in shape. The arrangement of these small bodies is such that intercommunicating spaces or pores are left between them, and through these channels flows a sap or juice containing larger and smaller particles ”

“ In the immature fluke we may now discern the mouth, the buccal or cephalic sucker, the pharyngeal bulb, the œsophagus, the digestive cæca, the coronal spines, the contractile vesicle, the aquiferous system of vessels, the matrices of the yelk-forming glands, and also a central mass of cellules, from which all the other reproductive organs will in due time be developed. In the adult Echinostoma militare the upper third of the body is clothed with little spines. ”

“ As a Speculum takes in and reflects more of its Object, when plac'd at a great distance from it, than when nearer; because it reflects according to the apparent Magnitude of the Body at such a distance, which is less: So also the Ecchoing Body, being remov'd farther off, reflects more of the Sound, than when nearer. And this is the reason, why some Ecchoes repeat but one Syllable, some one Word, and some many. ”

“ The peræon (Plate IV, Fig. 12) is comparatively smooth, first two segments long, as long as the rest of the body; cephalon angularly produced in front into a very short, blunt spine. Figure 13 « 224 » shows a specimen with a body somewhat broader. The superior antennæ are about half as long as the body, first joint broader than second, but shorter; second joint longest of all; third longer than first, and narrower than second; flagellum shorter than the peduncle and made up of about twelve joints. Inferior antennæ slightly shorter than the peduncle of the superior. ”

“ There are, of course, no arms; and a further resemblance to Echinoidea is shown by the fact that the ambulacral grooves are represented by closed epineural canals, and that the ectoderm consists of long, slender, flagellated cells interspersed with gland-cells, underneath which is a plexus consisting of nerve-fibres and small bi-polar ganglion cells. There are, however, no spines or pedicellariae ”

“ Eucleides congratulated Xenophon upon his safe return, and asked him how much gold he had got? and Xenophon had to confess: "Upon my word, I shall have barely enough to get home, unless I sell my horse, and what I have about my person." ”

“ In the middle of the body a roundish heap of small cells is seen, from which the entire body of the Echinorhynchus originates, even to the cutaneous layer; the latter is also the larval skin in which the small Echinorhynchus gradually grows. The development of all the organs takes place within the intermediary host, and the parasite only needs to be imported into the terminal host to attain the adult stage after a certain growth. ”

“ In fact the young anodonts have, [Pg 40] not like the other acephala, vibratory wheels in order to move themselves; they are conveyed in this manner by their neighbours. There are also messmate acephala, as the Modiolaria marmorata, which lodge on the mantle of ascidians. Professor Semper found attached to the skin of a Synapta similis, a mollusc which possesses a peculiarity rare among these animals, that of carrying its shell in the interior and not on the outside. ”

“ They reached the summit of the mamelon from which Xenophon was descending, and began rolling down crags. One man's leg was crushed to pieces. Xenophon was left by his shield-bearer, who carried off his shield, but Eurylochus of Lusia (4) , an Arcadian hoplite, ran up to him, and threw his shield in front to protect both of them; so the two together beat a retreat, and so too the rest, and joined the serried ranks of the main body. ”

“ Entosiphon, visceral mass still coiled; shell much reduced, proboscis very long forming a pseudopallium which covers the whole body and projects beyond in the form of a siphon, foot and nervous system present, eyes, branchia and anus absent, parasite in the Holothurian Deima blakei in the Indian Ocean. ”

“ The number of brains of microcephali that have been examined with reference to this point is very small, although their scientific value, after thorough-going observation of the possessors of them during life, is immense. For microcephalous children of some years of age are a substitute for imaginary, because never practicable, vivisectory experiments, concerning the connection of body and mind. ”

“ Xenophon tells us in his Anabasis that his soldiers found many hives in the neighbourhood of Trebizonde, and, after eating of the contents, the men were seized with violent purging and vomiting, stupefaction, and inability to stand. Those who ate little became like men very drunk, and those who ate much, like madmen, and some like dying persons. ”

“ Some impute their Effects to the old Serpent, others to the Nature of the Metal, and to the Influence of the Constellation. This Author therefore would make us believe, that the brazen Serpent cured just as the Talismans cure certain Distempers, by the Sympathy there is between the Metals of which they are made, or the Influence of the Stars under which they are formed, and the Disease they are to cure. Every one may believe as he pleases [364] . ”

“ Body elongate, strong. As flattened in the shale it is about twice as long as its greatest diameter. Cephalon transversely semicircular. Eyes unknown. Thorax with ten segments bearing appendages. Abdomen with two long anterior segments and a short segment to which is joined a long, slender spine-like telson. Epistoma elongate and a little more than one-half the length of the cephalon. ”

“ Fig. 348a.—The male of Echinorhynchus au­gu­sta­tus. L., lemnisci; T., testicles; P., prostatic glands; P.r., sheath of proboscis, with ganglion; R.r., retractor of sheath of proboscis. 25/1.
Gutless, nematode-like worms that carry at their anterior end a retractile rostrum beset with hooks. In their adult condition they only live in vertebrate animals. During their larval stage they are often parasitic in invertebrate animals.
The Acanthocephala are elongated cylindrical worms, with a rounded posterior end. In some species an annulation is distinctly recognizable ”