Neurophilosophy has just found some beautiful neuroanatomical engravings from an 1823 book called The Anatomy of the Brain, Explained in a Series of Engravings by the pioneering brain researcher Sir Charles Bell.
Those with a slightly medical tendency may know his name from Bell’s palsy, a facial muscle paralysis that usually affects one side, and is caused by damage to cranial nerve VII.
We have discussed Bell before on Mind Hacks, when we noted that he learnt his anatomy at a London strip club – although strictly speaking, he studied at a London anatomy school which is now one of the most famous strip clubs in London.
Neurophilosophy has some more of the fantastic engravings and recounts some of the background to the book and Bell’s work.
And if you’ve seen all of them, you may want to check out another great Neurophilosophy post on a intriguing brain scanning study that suggests that the visual cortex is used as storage during working memory for visual images.
Link to Neurophilosophy on antique brain engravings.
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