, 1888-05-18
THE BRAIN AND NERVES.
The Actions of Frogs without Brains.
How to Treat Nervous Diseases.

me Actions of Frogs without Brains
How to Treat Nervous Diseases.
1.-THE Nervous System-How to Keep
1t in Order was the subject of a very
interesting practical talk TO young
men in Association hall the other even
ing. DR.. E. D. Fisher, NJ. D., spoke and
some 1000 men of all ages listened. The
doctor compared the brain to an electric
battery, the gray matter being the zinc
and acid whereby the force is generated,
and the white matter with the spinal
cord being the wires by which the force
is distributed. The human brain is d.
vided by assures into q great number of
convolutions. This is not, however, the
case with dogs, pigeons, cats, fish, ETC.,
who have smooth brains without percepti-
bic divisions into parts. From this it
follows that the man who has the great
est number of convolutions in his brain
will be the most intellectual. This
is still further proved by the fact
that Africans, Asiatics, Indians,
and aboriginal Australians have not so
many convolutions in their brain as the
Caucasians.
The brain can be removed from the
frog and it will go IN living. AS one
great medicist has said, Removed from
all worry and wear and tear, there is
really no reason, if taken care of, why
such n frog should not live forever" The
doctor himself said he had seen one frog
without a brain alive six months nfter
being Drained When a drained"
frog is irritated upon one of its legs it
instinctively lifts the other leg up and
tries TO scratch off the irritation. But
let this same frog be put in a bowl of
water which is slowly heated; the ami
ma will remain in the boiling water until
life is extinct, evidently not feeling the
heat at all. This same frog, with food
placed all around it, would die of starva-
ton unless some food were put in its
mouth, which, when it reached a certain
point, would be swallowed by an entirely
mechanical action. No idea at all is con-
veyed to the animal without a brain, and
everything is don mechanically and by
means of reflex actions.
If the cerebellum is removed from n
pigeon he will sit sedately upon his perch
until knocked over, when he will begin
to swagger around. This staggering is
noticed in connection with n number of
brain diseases.
The medulla %oblongata is situated in
the neck, and is n collection of nerve
cells which control the breathing, the
motion of the heart and the size of the
arteries. Injury to this organ will cause
instant death. The sudden deaths in
many hangings are probably due to an
injury of the medulla.
Ancient ~phrenology was a humbug,
but 1t Is now known positively that GER
tain parts of the brain control certain
portions of the body. An injury to the
right side of the brain, as n rule. causes
a CpTrggnnndinU nnra1ycfu ~ fln 1art Ill.
of the body or the member over which
the injured portion of the brain has con
troll. Certain portions of the brain can
be injured without any noticeable bad
result to other parts Of the body. Wit
ness THE great iron crowbar case, " as it
is called. a man was injured by n crow
bar, which had penetrated the skull and
the frontal lobe of the brain. The pa
tient finally recovered. When the poste-
rior portion Of the brain is injured seri-
Gus results foil wv.
The doctor stated that We nave at this
time a greater number OF persons suffer
ing from nervous diseases than at any
other time in the history of the country.
As modern civilization, with its press of
business rivalry, alliances, the nervous
patients increase. But nervous cases are
also found away in the backwoods. The
climate, probably, has much to do with
the prevalence Of nervous diseases both
east and west.
The earliest sign of nervous diseases is
a loss of sleep, Then irritability and
pains in the head are noticeable. Rest rs
n medicine is useful above all things.
Nearly every N should sleep ten hours
n day, the doctor thought, although there
are persons who can get along with eight
hours without any apparent injurious
effect. Regularity in eating should al
ways be observed, and exercise in the
open air should also be tried. If these
fail then it is time the patient consulted
n doctor.-New York Sun.