Jiří Procháska (1749–1820): Part 1: A Significant Czech Anatomist,Physiologist and Neuroscientist of the Eighteenth Century

Ji?í (George) Procháska (1749–1820), a Czech anatomist, physiologist, and neuroscientist of the eighteenth century, ranks among the major figures of Czech and European cultural history. The works of Ji?í Procháska, due to historical circumstances, were published mostly in Latin and only some in German. However, given that only one treatise was partially translated into English, the results of his extensive research activities are currently unavailable to the international scientific community. The achievements of Ji?í Procháska undoubtedly belong to the major intellectual heritage of European science and certainly deserve attention as such, although his research reflected the time in which he lived and therefore has been reevaluated by later researchers. Undoubtedly, it is our duty not only to remember the work and legacy of Ji?í Procháska, which significantly influenced the development of our knowledge, but also to try to critically assess his contribution in terms of today. This article surveys the important biographical events of Ji?í Procháska’s life, taking into account the significance of his research.     

Proceedings Of The Fourth Annual Meeting Of The European Association For The History Of Psychiatry (Eahp), The European Club For The History Of Neurology (Echn), And The International Society For The History Of The History Of The Neurosciences (Ishn)

Abstract

Osphresiology, though beginning with Aristotle, and the title of a classical monograph from 1819 by Cloquet, has, like the human sense of smell itself, played a relatively modest role, compared to other sensory functions. The anatomical and physiological connections of the nose to the brain proved to be more complex than those of sight, hearing and even touch, and were therefore poorly understood before the second half of the 19th century. Moreover, the close association between smell and taste gave rise to much controversy regarding the respective roles of the first and the fifth cranial nerves. Next, came the unfolding of the evolutionary influence of cerebral structure and function ‐ viz Broca's “limbic”; concept, and the “olfactory desert”; in the brains of “anosmatic”; animals. Jackson's “uncinate”; seizures featuring olfactory hallucinations brought the hippocampal formation into focus. Finally, there were the clinical manifestations of hyposmia and hyperosmia, from “coryza”;, the common cold, to injury or neoplasms causing hyposmia, as well as some endocrine alterations causing hyperosmia. (And let us not forget Charles Huysman's “Against the Grain”; and Marcel Proust's evocative fragrant madeleine.)     

What Explains the Carcass Field Processing and Transport Decisions of Contemporary Hunter-Gatherers? Measures of Economic Anatomy and Zooarchaeological Skeletal Part Representation

This paper uses rationale derived from central place foraging models to explore the factors that guide the carcass processing and transport decisions of modern hunters. Using data derived from butchering experiments, I test different economic indices that purportedly reflect the field processing and transport decisions of contemporary African Hadza hunter-gatherers. The results show that no single index predicts part processing and transport for the species examined in this analysis. Processing and transport decisions are, however, patterned in ways that are consistent with theoretical predictions. While similar processes likely guide carcass treatment and transport decisions among all hunter-gatherers, different ecological, social, and historical constraints define the range of solutions to problems involving carcass treatment. In this specific example, intertaxonomic differences in carcass size and bone properties constrain how the trade-offs between field processing and transport costs are resolved. I conclude by suggesting ways in which analysts might make use of central place foraging rationale and models to explain variation in skeletal representation and abundances across time and space.

The intercalatus nucleus of Staderini

Rutilio Staderini was one of the leading Italian anatomists of the twentieth century, together with some scientists, such as Giulio Chiarugi, Giovanni Vitali, and others. He was also a member of a new generation of anatomists. They had continued the tradition of the most famous Italian scientists, which started from the Renaissance up until the nineteenth century. Although he carried out important studies of neuroanatomy and comparative anatomy, as well as embryology, his name is rarely remembered by most medical historians. His name is linked to the nucleus he discovered: the Staderini nucleus or intercalated nucleus, a collection of nerve cells in the medulla oblongata located lateral to the hypoglossal nucleus. This article focuses on the biography of the neuroanatomist as well as the nucleus that carries his name and his other research, especially on comparative anatomy and embryology.     

Use of vegetative remains in the identification of dyeplants from waterlogged 9th–10th century AD deposits at York

Vegetative remains of four dyeplants (Rubia tinctorum L., Genista tinctoria L., Diphasium complanatum (L.) Rothm. and Isatis tinctoria L.) found in 9th–10th century deposits at York, are described in detail. A fifth species (Reseda luteola L.), so far only found as seeds, is also described.     

Cerebral White Matter — Historical Evolution of Facts and Notions Concerning the Organization of the Fiber Pathways of the Brain

Gross and microscopic studies by early investigators led the cerebral white matter from being regarded as an amorphous mass to an intricately organized system of fasciculi that facilitate the highest expression of cerebral activity. Here we pay homage to the anatomists whose observations resulted in the evolution of ideas about the cerebral white matter. We also draw attention to limitations of the earlier methodologies and to some of the conflicts and controversies that have characterized this field and that persist in the current literature. We conclude with brief reference to the principles of organization of the fiber pathways derived from our studies in the monkey using the autoradiographic tract tracing technique, another step in the ongoing investigations of the cerebral white matter. This historical review has contemporary relevance because the fiber pathways of the brain are crucial components of the distributed neural circuits that subserve nervous system function; the clinical manifestations of white matter damage are recognized with greater frequency and clarity; and magnetic resonance imaging tractography has made it possible to view these fiber bundles within the living human brain.     

Making the Brain Plastic: Early Neuroanatomical Staining Techniques and the Pursuit of Structural Plasticity, 1910–1970

The concept of neuronal plasticity is widely used, but seldom defined in the neurosciences. It can signify many different occurrences, such as structural alterations of axons and dendrites (Cotman & Nadler, 1978), behavioural adaptations (Rosenzweig & Bennett, 1996), or physiological changes in synapse formation (Martin et al., 2000) at different stages of health and disease. Although there is such a wealth of research from many disciplines, the neuroanatomical aspects of plasticity are the focus of this paper. It seeks to illuminate the evolution of different concepts of plasticity concerning the structure and circuitry of the central nervous system (CNS). Early modern morphological research on de- and regeneration phenomena in the 19th- and early 20th-century is well documented. These studies, however, almost exclusively concentrated on the peripheral nervous system (PNS). It was one of the major contributions of Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852–1934), that he applied the concept of regenerative capacities to the CNS. But the term plasticity seemed to have disappeared for about two decades after his death. The ensuing comeback of the expression may be attributed, at least in part, to new neuroanatomical staining and tracing methods. The pursuit of these techniques will serve as a guidepost through varying approaches in different times: It was the 1950s which seemed to spawn the time for new departures in structural investigations of neuronal plasticity.     

Pelvic stress injuries in a small‐bodied forager

The assumption of natural selection for obstetric adequacy would predict the occasional discovery of skeletal evidence for inadequacy, yet such cases are rare. Here stress injuries to the pelvic ring are associated with an asymmetrical pelvis caused by partial agenesis of the right sacral costal process. The small, middle‐aged woman lived about 2000 years ago and pursued a physically vigorous life as a coastal forager on the South African Cape coast. The right sacral costal process (ala) is about 5 mm narrower than the left. This sacral hemiagenesis led to pelvic asymmetry, and concomitant instability. The six articular faces of the pelvis show the normal surfaces replaced by disorganised, porous new bone and extensive eburnation. The left pubic face shifted dorsally, making contact with the ventral aspect of the right pubis. The most distinctive aspect is the presence of osteitis pubis, or pubic symphysis stress injury, which is clinically associated both with difficult childbirth and with vigorous athletic activities. Adjustments to the altered pelvis include erosions and osteophytes at sites of ligament attachment, and prominent bilateral insertion areas on the tibiae for the stabilising iliotibial band. While habitual activities may explain some pelvic features, such as the bilateral bevelling of the acetabular borders, it is postulated that childbirth exacerbated the joint instability and the subsequent deterioration. This case joins a small literature on the condition of pubic symphysis stress injury, and illustrates the mechanisms through which natural selection for pelvic size and shape characteristics may have occurred. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Holey Goats: Multiple Cases of Supratrochlear Foramina in the Humerus of Caprines from the New Kingdom Pharaonic Town of Amara West,Northern Sudan

Supratrochlear foramina (STF) were recorded in fifteen per cent of goat and sheep/goat humeri from the New Kingdom pharaonic town of Amara West, in modern northern Sudan. To the authors’ knowledge, this trait has never before been reported in the published literature for goats or sheep, whether from archaeological or modern contexts. The aim of this work is twofold: to contribute to the growing corpus of studies addressing the incidence and aetiology of STF, and to raise awareness for their possible presence in caprines, thus encouraging their identification and recording in archaeological assemblages.