A first book in organic evolutionShute, D. Kerfoot (Daniel Kerfoot)
Science
A first book in organic evolution
Shute, D. Kerfoot (Daniel Kerfoot)
Evolution
In the marsupial (Fig. 21), a more intelligent animal still, the
cerebrum, cr, has grown so large that it extends backwards and partially
covers the optic lobes. It is to be observed that in the marsupial the
cerebellum, cb (like the cerebrum, cr), has evolved to a higher phase. It
consists of a median lobe, cb, which is larger than the median cerebellum
of the lower creatures mentioned, and of two lateral lobes, one on either
side, which have been acquired in the course of evolution. The median
lobe, the homologue of the single, median cerebellum of lower animals,
is larger than the lateral ones. The cerebellum of the marsupial has its
surface increased by fissures, while that of the fish and reptile is
smooth. The fissured cerebellum is a higher evolution than the smooth
ones. In the groups of animals referred to so far the cerebrum is smooth
and the olfactory lobes are still in front, though much encroached upon
in the marsupial by the enlarging cerebrum. In those animals still
higher in the scale of life, such as the prosimiæ (Lemurs), the cerebrum
has reached yet larger proportions and complexity, and has grown still
farther backwards towards the medulla, so that it hides from view a
considerable portion of the cerebellum (Fig. 22); it has also grown
forward, thus concealing largely the olfactory lobes. The cerebrum is
no longer smooth, but has a number of simple fissures and convolutions
(the higher animals have numerous complex fissures and convolutions). The
lateral lobes of the cerebellum have increased relatively more than the
central lobe, and the whole organ has advanced in complexity of fissures.
In the higher simiæ (monkeys and apes) the cerebrum has grown so far
backwards as to almost completely cover the cerebellum and medulla,
and its convolutions have become much more numerous and complex. The
cerebellum has also grown greatly, and its lateral lobes are now larger
and more complex than the central lobe.
[Illustration: PLATE XII.—Brain of man: dorsal and side views. The
cerebrum has grown so far backwards and forwards as completely to hide
the other segments of the brain when looked at from the dorsal surface.
From Carus’s “The Soul of Man.” By courtesy of The Open Court Publishing
Company.]
Finally, in man (Plate XII), the whole brain has grown so enormously that
it is three times larger than the brain of the highest simian creature.
The cerebrum, especially, has increased enormously in size. It has grown
not only backwards (overlapping cerebellum), upwards, and downwards
on the sides, it has grown so far forwards as not only to cover the
olfactory lobes, but also to project far beyond them. The cerebellum has
also increased in size and complexity, especially the lateral lobes. The
ideal vertical section (Fig. 23) shows diagrammatically in one figure all
these stages in the evolution of the human brain through the geologic
ages.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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