JRSM > Volume 99, Number 3 > Pp. 105

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Letters

The long shadow of cerebral localization

Robert Richardson

Medical historian, East Pallant Cottage, East Pallant, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 1TZ, UK

I am distinctly puzzled by Saad Shafqat's article on cerebral localization (December 2005 JRSM¹). The foundations of cerebral localization are generally accepted to have been laid by Paul Broca² and, more significantly, by Gustav Fritsch and Eduard Hitzig³ and David Ferrier.⁴

Dr Shafqat goes on to say `The problem, unfortunately, is that lesion localization became an end in itself'. Oh? Within 5 years William Macewen was operating on abscesses of the brain that he had successfully located. He was soon followed by the likes of Victor Horsley, Charles Harrison Frazier and Harvey Cushing, all active before the end of the first decade of the 20th century. Besides abscesses, tumours and epilepsy were tackled by a handful of men with pretty satisfactory results considering the state of surgery at the time.⁵

Before computerized tomography and magnetic resonance scanning appeared on the scene, Walter Dandy had devised pneumoventriculography and Egas Moniz had introduced arterial encephalography.

REFERENCES

1. Shafqat S. The long shadow of cerebral localization. J R Soc Med 2005;98:549[Free Full Text]

2. Broca P. Remarques sur le siege de la faculté du language articulé, suivie d'une observation d'aphémie (perte de la parole). Bull Soc Anatom Paris1861; 36:330 -57

3. Macewen W. Cases illustrative of cerebral surgery. Lancet1885; i:934 -6

4. Fritsch G, Hertzig E. Ueber die elecktrische Erregbarkeit des Grosshirns. Archr Anatom Physiol1870; 37:300 -32

5. Richardson R. The Story of Surgery, with Commentaries. Shrewsbury: Quiller Press, 2004 (see Chapters 14, 15 for references.)

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This Article Full Text (PDF) Send a Quick Comment Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when Quick Comments are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Richardson, R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Social Bookmarking                      What's this?