Anatomy and Embalming: A Treatise on the Science and Art of Embalming, the Latest and Most Successful Methods of Treatment and the General Anatomy Relating to this SubjectNunnamaker, Albert John
Science
Anatomy and Embalming: A Treatise on the Science and Art of Embalming, the Latest and Most Successful Methods of Treatment and the General Anatomy Relating to this Subject
Nunnamaker, Albert John
Embalming
_In the cranial cavity_ we find the brain. The brain is the seat of the
mind, and the functions which the brain performs distinguishes man from
the other animals, as man becomes a conscious, intelligent, responsible
being through the action of the brain. The brain is egg-shaped, soft
and yielding, closely fitting the cranial cavity. The front and top of
the brain is called the cerebrum, which is the center for intelligence,
reason, and will. This part of the brain is convoluted, and the
depth of the convolutions to a great extent indicates the amount of
intelligence.
Below the cerebrum and lying in front of the occipital bone, we find
the cerebellum, which is the seat of memory and the center for the
co-ordination of muscle movements. By co-ordination of muscle movement
is meant that the muscles will do just what we want them to do, that
they will act harmoniously, the one with the other. The condition of
Saint Vitus' Dance would be an example showing a lack of co-ordination.
This part of the brain is also convoluted.
[Illustration: FIG. 15—Brain and spinal cord.]
Between the cerebrum and the cerebellum, and connecting the two,
is found the pons Varolii. The word pons means bridge, and the word
Varolii means to cross over. It is in this part of the brain, then,
that the nerve fibers cross over to the opposite side. A person having
a paralytic stroke on the right side of the body would indicate that
the left side of the brain had become affected.
Joined to this is the medulla oblongata. This is the lowest part of the
brain and is the connecting link between the brain and the spinal cord.
The medulla controls the circulation, respiration, and deglutition
(swallowing).
Closely adhering to the brain, is a delicate membrane, sinking into
the convolutions, and following the surface of the brain valleys
throughout. This membrane is called the pia mater. In it is found
the capillaries, which supply the brain with its nutritive blood
in life and with embalming fluid after death. These capillaries do
not penetrate the substance of the brain, but the process is one of
osmosis, absorption or transfusion. Covering the outer most part of
the brain, and closely adhering to the cranial bones is a dense, tough,
glistening, membrane, called the dura mater. In the dura mater is found
the sinuses of the brain.
In between the pia mater and the dura mater is a delicate double
membrane forming a closed sack, called the arachnoid membrane. This sac
contains a serous fluid, which offers great protection to the brain.
These same three membranes also cover the spinal cord, and are called
all together the meninges of the brain and cord.
The brain is composed of white and gray matter. The gray matter is on
the outside, and the white matter is on the inside.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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