Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1876-04-12
How They Study Brains at Munich,

Wnerc else IN the world. Some of the
readers Of the Courdnt may be interested
IN an unscientitic word or two about what
| | saw the other day at the Institution for
the Insane. The Director, Herr Prof.
Barnhardt Gudden, invented some wears
ago method OF infinitely examining the
brain, which | believe is new, and ma.
chine for facilitating the operation which
Is original. BY means of his process the
structure OF the brain is studied at leis-
ure and more thoroughly than it has ever
been before. The process is this: When
the brain is taken from the head entire, it
| Is submitted to process which hardens
it. This is accomplished by soaking il in
a solution of bichroMate of potash. 1t re.
| quires two years to give the brain of
man the requisite solidity; the smaller
brain of an inferior animal will harden in
three months. The mass is then imbedded
| in wax and fitted into circular basin
having screw underneath by which the
brain can be raised or lowered. The
screw is turned So rs to bring the sub
stance just above the rim OF the basin, and
| long razor like knife, resting upon the
| rim, is drawn over 1t, slicing off pairing
| OF the brain, thin or thick, as the anato.
| mist wishes. The operation is repeated
until the brain SLICED, let us say, verti-
cally, from the front TO the back--is sepa.
| rated into series of thin plates, or
lamn9. These lamin9 are then put up
| in Venetian varnish. between glass, la
| heled and numbered in the order they are
| cut Oft, and they are ready for examina-
| ton under the microscope, The sub
stance first however, is little tin ged with
vermillion, in order to render the translu-
| cent, thin lamin9 visible. The color,
however, does not at all oblterate the dis
tinction between the gray and the white
substance of the brain. In the room
| where saw this process were brains in
I'll the stages-brains of men, Of dogs,
| oxen, rabbits, doves, etc.-jars full of
them, like some new and unpleasant sort
OF pickle. Aud about the room were
cases with shelves, and boxes, filed with
brains, sliced, dried and put away for ex-
| animation. Standing together in one cor.
ner were over dozen boxes, foot and a
half long and six inches square, fitted
| with slide and filled with the glass con-
! tanning the lamire.
:" How many bla!ns," Iasked, ARE con.
tanned in those boxesg"
ooh" replied the professor, "only
| one; My the brain Of one man but it has
been sliced in 700 plates But we cut
the brains of animals thinner. There in
that case is the brain of dog; it is l, 100
plates"
You will understand by this the facili.
ty student would have for examining
the structure Of the brain. Beginning at
the front, let us say, he can trace, with
| perfect certainty, back to the base of the
brain and the spinal column every nerve,
every tissue, every minutest fiber. He
can not only learn the origin Of all, the
| growth or diminution of all, but the di-
rection of each. Without the necessity Of
enlarging upon it, you will see how com
pletely this process lays the brain open to
study, and study that may be pursued
months or years on the same brain. OF
| course, brains are sliced in any direction,
| longtudinally Is we'll as transversely,
and horizontally as we'll as vertically.
| These admirable preparations have been,
| as yet, very little studied; but they will
| no doubt yield valuable results. The ex.
pcriments with animals consist in remov.
| ing the whole or q part of the brain from
| the living creature when II is in extreme
youth, and then observing the result in
maturity. Take for instance dog. A
portion Of the puppy's brain is cut out. |
He is then allowed to grow up, and Al the
cuu VI yCh uC Is hlbltu, anu Ills DTdIu
is prepared in the manner l have de-
scribed. Take out quarter of a dogs
brain, or even one entire lobe, and he does
! not mind it much there is probably unu
sual activity in the half remaining. III
more than half of both lobes from the
| 'front.' is removed, the brain even grows a
little again, and the animal performs his
ordinary functions. If all the brain is
| taken, the dog lives, but he is little better
| than an idiot his TODD must be put into
! his mouth, he can direct his steps with no
certainty, and his eyes zee without recog-
milton.
Most of these delicate preparations In
this museum have been made by DR..
Auguste Forrel, young Swiss naturalist,
the assistant, as l said, in this spital,
| and genius Of the first order. He had,
however, in walls, many brains Of ants |
both big and little. These brains he
hardens and submits to the same slicing |
process described above. The dissection |
Of large ant is delicate operation, but |
when the ant is as small " some Of these |
he has here, the brain of which needs to |
be under microscope 10 be seen perfectly |
| the delicacy of manipulation necessary can |
be imagined. The ant, as you know, is a
| very wonderful animal, and has capacities |
which seem TO be wanting in animal
larger, and usually credited with more IN
ell.gence They exist in societies, il not
in organizations; they are architects, they |
plan and carry out expeditions of plumber |
or Of war, they have slaves, they seem to
have ION occasions) recognized leaders,
and they act sometimes very much as
community of men. The ants have three |
sexes, male, female and a neuler. which |
| think are named amazoEs. The slaves |
Of an ant-hill are compelled to do the
work; 1t is, IL l understand it, the ANA.
IONS mostly who form the army. The |
/ Il GOD oil h..