The Washington times., 1921-10-02
BY d.. 1. L. Nsscher.

Dawson, the noted banker and partner
in. the Arm Of ], p. Morgan q Co. and look
down into his brains. when II WAS dis
covered that he had . tumor inside his
skull and that an operation was the only
hope for MS recovery. 4
Most people have the same feeling about
tinkerins with the head a. they have about
tinkering with The heart. IT b compare
lively recently that the picture Of the
heart as q delicate organ which could Be
stopped at touch has been dissipsted By
science and that We now know II 70 Do the ?
tough old organ that II 10. something that
can be cut and stitched and even be iifted
out of the chest cavity and put hack again (
without damage. And similarly science
knows that the iayman's idea Of the super
sensitiyity OF the brain is wrong. l MI
AS a matter Of fact about 1000 years
Aso Hippocrstes, the father Of medicine,
wrote book about injuries OF the head
in which he describes the operation OF
trephining or cutting through the skull
to the brain. In the operation Hippocratss :
describes. piece Of the skull 10 cut out
by means Of q trsphine or circular saw and
the brain underneath 10 then exposed to
the gaze Of the surgeon.
Since that time the science Of medicine
has made several complete revolutions and
the art Of surgery has made enormous ad.
yances. yet this operation, one Of the
most serious In the whole realm Of
arSery. Ii performed to-day almost
xact1y ss It was twenty.three cen y
auaes ago, and with almost identical
instruments.
Hut the knowledge OF trephining
goss bsck svea before the days 81
Hippocrates. We have prehistoric
skulls IN which neat, square holes
have been cut The condition OF the
edges Of the bone show In many eases
thst the patient must have lived for
wears after the rude operation. Among
the ancient Peruvians the technique
of 9trephining was much advanced.
There are scores Of skulls which show
the work, Of the saw. Whether the
ancient peoples had any knowledge OF a.,
the brain ana ne diseases. or whether
these pieces lof bone cut out wsys 10
"let out the evii spirits who caused
headaches" cannot Of. course now bs
known. .L., =,
Nevertheless, Just 90 the ancient
Peruvians performed their operation
of opening up the skulls in about the
same way modern surgery does II, %
the symptoms which prompted their.
medicine men to perform the opera
ton were probably exactly those
which the great modern banker described
to his OWL modern surgeons. In Mr..
Davison's csse he suffered for nearly three
years srma persistent headaches which
were 'castantly getting worse. and in
abiljt- to sleep. There were other symp-
toms I aat pointed to brain tumor, and its
location was fixed at point behind the
CIR. and SO perfectly had its site been
lorg,ad that when the surgeons cut out
tn, disc Of bone the tumor was found
c Getty under the opening.
The next question, where has he got
it?" could be readily answered In Banker
Davison's case, as the symptoms from the
beginning pointed to the back Of the left
ear. The ear symptoms and the site 81
most intense pain left no doubt about the
exact location Of the tumor. But all brain
tumOrS cannot De SO rebuliy iOCdtcu. ~
is only In recent years that physiologists
have been able to localize various brain
functions, and physicians and surgeons
finding that these functions were dis
turbed, could say with definite assurance
that this or that part Of the brain was dis
eased.
They know, for example, that the speeci
centre IL located In the third frontal con
yoIution or fold Of brain on the left side
and II 4 person has aphasia-that Is, los
- of the power to express his ideas In speech
there 10 some trouble In that part Of tn,
brain. The swallowing centre Is In thu
base OF the fourth ventricle, one OF TIL
cavities In the brain.
In like manner other sites Of trouble
can be located. There are centres for tn,
special senses--sight. hearing. taste, smell
ing. for swallowing, sneezins, motion L
various parts Of the body; In fact, all brail
functions. While only a few Of thes'
centres have been exactly located It !
expected that every portion Of the brail
will In time be mapped out, so that tn
site OF every brain function win be known
At present, when the symptoms point D
brain tumor its site Is, determined b.
the locality of pain or greatest pain upol
pressure, the x-ray, and such symptom
as defects or impairment OF sight, heal
ing, smelling. tasting or impairment y
general or local sensation OF motion sam