Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1859-08-31

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g and mclua oblong-Ia result "a immolla,e death
" The wounds Of the woman Virginia s.swag
form another link in the chain 0g facts, substan
b" tiating highly important deduction, that Il,
=. superior portions Of the hemispheTos OF tho CO
rebrum intact, as tlo.whGla, ure not neeegsar
80 to carry on tho vital functions Large portion
l. of 1t haze been renewed, times withou. number
and the sufferers have survived. Tho cersbel
1T lum has been removed, IN experiments on uni
4 mails and birds and tic animals lived, for som
time and suffered no paiu, According 10 Flour
ems and Magondic, animals from which il is 70
appearances, us before, Want of harmony o
actions is tho usual result Of injuries 10 this or
gan, and although belonging TO the matar arpa
ratus, it is contondol that il does not propcrl,
belong to the sensitive or Intellectual Ba. por
tions Of the brain attached to il or very contig,
uous to it, are intimately essential to life We
differ with the correspondent Of the States in
regard 10 wounds Of the cerobcllus being neccs-
sari!y fatal, Hence these remarks:
Death OF Virginia Stewart
Remarkable character Of hcr WOw&--hjm3es er
the Brain not airayS F@0k-IHr GOm0y Fam
! Hy-ARdalaiiOG and PreSSWeMC Rsoi Occasion
Of MiSchig.
The poSt-morica examination after the death of
Virginia Stewart, disclosed the bullet, much bat
tered, ON the right side OF the head, in the from
tai portion Of the corchrUm. \ piece o..
the skull, which had been driven in by tho force
ct the ball, and probably been the occasion OF
greater laccratiOn ana inflammation than the
missile itself. The bullet seems to have per-
iOrmeda curve TO arrive at the place where it
was found by DR.. Hull. The case. says tho
New York Evening Post, in scientific point Of
view, is ono Of the most remarkable on record.
The popular notion as TO the almost nccessari-
| ly fatal character or wounds of tho brain is ~
greatly exaggerated one. The tragedy of the
Gouldy family, last fall when six persons had
been murderOus!y struck through the skull into
the very substance Of the brain with Il Aatoiet,
and yet all but one survived their injuries is
still fresh in memory, Probably the force, sud
denncss, and madness with which tho blows were
inflicted, and the sharpness Of the instrument,
contributed not Iittle to their escape from in
stant or carly dissolution. \ bullet, though
making wound not looking SO ugly, would plo-
ducc greater amount Of displacement and lace
ration, and hence subsequent inflammation. Blows,
- > u 4 ;-Aihtqd with only half the fierce
ness ana violence, might h,,yo Prpu".o: ,r'.or ,
fractures Of the crauinm than the TaIiUiy-'ica.t
SA
may pass through window without cIGclng
the edges around the hole, while spent bali OF
stone coming with half the force will shiyer thf
glass in every direction.
Nature seems to be especially caprlciops in re.
laton to the effects induced in wounds Of the
BRAIN slight fall a triiing blow, without
breaking the skin, will prove fatal in a short |
time: and yet in other instances, the skull will !
be pierced or fractured, large pieces of skull !
bone will be removed, as by tropanning and even
considerable portion of the corcbrum or upper |
brain be lost, ind yet the vital functions will
continue apparently little disturbed, for many
years. man may lose several ounces Of the
neurlne without death, or even the suspicion OF
the intellect. But the slightest wound inflicted
on the cerbellum, or lower brain, or on the me-
dulla oblongata, produces immediate DEATH
Possibly the brain, as an organ OF the mind,
operates as q whole The mind itself is whole |
and entire entity, independent OF the brain, It's
organ Of operation.
A few years ago man, in blasting, exploded
his charge too soon by ramming it down with an
iron bar OF drill. The drill was driven up clear
through the roof of his mouth, through the
top of his skull high up into the air. The man
coolly stepped into wagon standing near, and
drove some distance home. No one supposed he
could live but he actually did survive, without
injury to the intellect. |
Some years ago well l-digger, sixty years of
are, received fracture Of the skull by tho fall
Of heavy timber on his head, when at the bot
tom of a well. He was taken out insensible,
and so remained for ten days. his death being
hourly expected. Trepanning was then perform
ed. lie lost in the operation considerable por-
ton of the BRAIN Yet he recovered his mind, and
became strong enough to walk about the room:
y new bone actually commenced to grow, small
piece of which extended downward INTO the brain'
produced irritation and pressure, finally result
ed in death, eighteen months after the occurrence
of the accident
1t is not the loss Of the substance Of the brain
that is to be feared much as it is the result
ing irritation and inhaihation. Congestion may
produce stupor, and hemorrhagc may cause
death but the abstraction of considerable |
portion of the cerebum, though perhaps subtract
ing from the nervous forces and the power of
endurance does not seem to be a necessary occa-
sion of lasal results, or even impairment OF
mental activity.
But pressure upon the brain seems always TO
produce disordered action, whether occasloned
by external injury or by internal determination
of blood whenever it comes to prevent Tree
supply and continual flow of healthy blood
through all the vessels of the brain, mental ac-
ton speedily assumes disordered character. -
Often the removal of this pressure is succeeded
bya restoration of the intellectual functions
A case is on record of a sailor whose skull had
been fractured and deeply indented for three
years, producing all that time perfect oblivion
Of the memory and senses. who was restored to
instant consciousness and mental activity by
the removal of the bone under the trepan- |
nipc operation. A question might be propound- |
ed. whether the pcculiarities and eccentrieities.
almost abnormal, of many men, may not he re- /
suits of congestion Of portions of the brain, to
an extent beyond what has ever been imagined.
NEWSPAPER DEcIsIoS Supreme Court of
Indiana has made q decision which has an i'm
portant hearing upon the interests Of the newsra-
per press. i controversy existed relative 20 !
charge for advertising between the Commissioners