The San Francisco call., 1898-12-11
 Had Greatness Ihrust Upon Them:
Famous Cases Unuitinsy Helped Science


cles from an area as large as the hand; fracturing and removing the anterior half of the sixth rib, fracturing the fifth rib lacerating the lower part or the left lung and diarhragm ana per forating the stomach.
 Dr. Beaumont of the United States army saw the case in thirty minutes after the accident, and under skillful care the patient, in the course or year, recovered his general health.
 St. Martin, after his recovery. per formed all the duties of a common la borer and remained in the service of Dr. Beaumont for some years. He mar ried in due time, became the father Of several children, and finally died at the ripe old age of 80 years. TEe fame of St. Martin rests altogether upon the fact that the wound in his stomach healed in such a manner as to leave an opening about two inches in c1rcumfer- ence, soyer which a valvular fold of membrane formed, and through which, by pushing aside the fold, the process of digestion could be observed.
 pr. Beaumont was thus enabled to perform many experiments, and to add much to our knowledge of digestive processes, the ideas of which were, at that time, indefinite and confused. St. Martin was presented before medical associations at Washington, D. C., and other large cities, where the eXperl- ments of Dr. Beaumont were repeated and his conclusions verified.
 No doubt this humble Canadian lad, who had greatness thrust upon him in such a violent and painful manner, has contributed more to the good of hu- manity than many whose names are familiar in the annals of history.
 We will now turn our attention to another eminent character, Phineas T. Gage.
 In the year 1855 Phineas T. Gage, 25 years of age, met with an accident which has placed his name above that of plain, everyday individuals, and given him a permanent position in sur gical records.
 Young Gage was employed In stone blasting, and by the premature explo- sion of charge a crowbar, three and & half feet long, weighing thirteen pounds, was shot through his head. The implement entered the mouth at the angle of the left jaw, passed up- ward and backward, and made it's exit through the superior cranial vault It was picked up some distance away, covered with blood and brains. In it's course the crowbar passed through the optic nerve, the anterior portion of the corpus callOSum carrying away more than two ounces of brain matter.
 Strange to say, that although stunned for the moment by the accident Gage was shortly able to walk home and up a flight of stairs, still retaining his senses so that he could give an intelli- gent account of the occurrence. He ultimately recovered his health and normal mental condition, and was en- gagged in hard labor up to the time of his death, twelve years later.
 His wonderful recovery attracted uni- verSal attention, and Ranney remarks Lectures on Nervous Diseases, page D: 'The American crowbar case at l. e.. minds of the reading public and con founded the medical fraternity. . This case may be said to have been the starting point of a new epoch in medi- cal science. It rendered untenable all previous hypotheses that had been ad- vanced regarding the organ or the mind It proved conclusively that lit tie or nothing was known at that time respecting the architecture of the brain of man and the functions of it's com ponent parts" And so Phineas T. Gage has become famous as the hero of the American Crowbar Case
 Alexandrine Labrosse was a F'renc1 child, who died at the age of Il. Her$ name is associated with our knowledge of the functions of the cerebellum. She was unable to stand alone until five years old, she walked, but unsteadily, at the age of seven, and was always in secure on her legs. She was deficient in intelligence and could not speak dis tinctly, merely mumbling incoherently. She spent the greater part of her short life in recumbent position.
 It would appear at first thought very improbable that this pitiful imbeciIe could contribute anything to the vel fare of humanity, and it would seem that, since she had been born, her early death was most fortunate. Still, al- though we may marvel at it, perver- sions of nature sometimes teach truths of value, both to present and future generations.
 The notable fact which perpetuates the name of Alexandrine Labrosse is that upon dissection she was found to have no cerebellum. Deductions from this peculiar abnormal condition es- tablished the function of the cerebel- lum in presiding over equilibrium and other important features.
 Laura Bridgeman of Boston lost every special sense save that of touch as the result of a severe attack of ill., ness. By this sense alone she 'qaS taught to read, write, sew, knit, con- struct fancy articles and perform many other tactile functions. She was abls to recognize those with whom she was acquainted by grasping sleeve or some part of their garments.
 Truly, greatness, such as has been acquired in the ways related above, is not an honor to be sought; and if so be, may we live in obscurfty rather than have our memory perpetuated by our infirmities.-Lyman Watkins, MD, in California Medical Journal. n ~ n 4, <~ <~ <> n n <> N s> N <> ~ r U =