Anatomy, Comparative; Embryology, Human; Evolution; Human beings -- Origin
FIGURE 2.299. Brain of a shark (Scyllium), back view. g fore-brain, h
olfactory lobes, which send the large olfactory nerves to the nasal
capsule (o), d intermediate brain, b middle brain; behind this the
insignificant structure of the hind brain, a after brain. (From
Gegenbaur.)
FIGURE 2.300. Brain and spinal cord of the frog. A from the dorsal, B
from the ventral side. a olfactory lobes before the (b) fore brain, i
infundibulum at the base of the intermediate brain, c middle brain, d
hind brain, s quadrangular pit in the after brain, m spinal cord (very
short in the frog), m apostrophe roots of the spinal nerves, t
terminal fibres of the spinal cord. (From Gegenbaur.)
FIGURE 2.301. Brain of an ox-embryo, two inches in length. (From
Mihalkovics, magnified three times.) Left view; the lateral wall of
the left hemisphere has been removed, st corpora striata, ml
Monro-foramen, ag arterial plexus, ah Ammon's horn, mh middle brain,
kh cerebellum. dv roof of the fourth ventricle, bb pons Varolii, na
medulla oblongata.)
Thus, while the brain of the mammals agrees a good deal in general
growth with that of the birds and reptiles, there are some striking
differences between the two. In the Sauropsids (birds and reptiles)
the middle brain and the middle part of the hind brain are well
developed. In the mammals these parts do not grow, and the fore-brain
develops so much that it overlies the other vesicles. As it continues
to grow towards the rear, it at last covers the whole of the rest of
the brain, and also encloses the middle parts from the sides (Figures
2.301 to 2.303). This process is of great importance, because the fore
brain is the organ of the higher psychic life, and in it those
functions of the nerve-cells are discharged which we sum up in the
word "soul." The highest achievements of the animal body--the
wonderful manifestations of consciousness and the complex molecular
processes of thought--have their seat in the fore brain. We can remove
the large hemispheres, piece by piece, from the mammal without killing
it, and we then see how the higher functions of consciousness,
thought, will, and sensation, are gradually destroyed, and in the end
completely extinguished. If the animal is fed artificially, it may be
kept alive for a long time, as the destruction of the psychic organs
by no means involves the extinction of the faculties of digestion,
respiration, circulation, urination--in a word, the vegetative
functions. It is only conscious sensation, voluntary movement,
thought, and the combination of various higher psychic functions that
are affected.
(FIGURE 2.302. Brain of a human embryo, twelve weeks old. (From
Mihalkovics, natural size.) Seen from behind and above. ms
mantle-furrow, mh corpora quadrigemina (middle brain), vs anterior
medullary ala, kh cerebellum, vv fourth ventricle, na medulla
oblongata.)
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