On the chemical pathology of the brain / by Adam Addison.

  • Addison, Adam.
Date:
[1866]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the chemical pathology of the brain / by Adam Addison. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    they differ essentially from the proper fats. So, when we find that in diseases which produce a great emaciation of the body the cere¬ bral matters soluble in ether are not lessened in quantity, it is not so very wonderful, because it is only the fat proper which suffers loss. Among the different anatomical regions of the brain the medulla oblongata contains the largest quantity of cerebral matter soluble in ether. This is also the result of the analyses of Hauff and Walther. On the other hand, the thalami optici and the corpora striata appear to contain least fat, but this rule appears to have more or less nume¬ rous exceptions, according to individual conditions. Age appears to be not without influence upon the quantity of fat in the brain, which seems to decrease in advanced life. As regards the quantity of water, no general laws can be deduced from Bibra^s analyses ; it appears to vary much within certain limits. In general, it may be assumed that those parts of the brain which have most fat give the smallest quantity of water, and vice versa. Age appears to exercise no considerable influence upon the quantity of water, but, on the other hand, the albuminates, &c., appear to increase some¬ what in old age. Yon Bibra, Walther, and Hauff have also made observations upon the relation of the water, the fats, and other solid matters in the gray and white substance. They agree in stating that the fatty contents of the gray substance are much smaller in quantity than those of the white, and that the former contains more water than the latter, and, what is very remarkable, in almost the same propor¬ tion as it is poorer in fat. These conditions supply a general con¬ firmation of the results of Lassaigne's analyses previously given. Bibra. In 100 parts. Male, set. 21. Typhus. Male, get. 59. Bright’s Disease. Male, get. 30. Tuberculosis. Gray sub¬ stance of hemispheres. White sub¬ stance of hemispheres. White sub¬ stance of corpus callo¬ sum. Gray sub¬ stance of hemispheres. White sub¬ stance of hemispheres. White sub¬ stance of corpus cal¬ losum. Gray sub¬ stance of hemispheres. White sub¬ stance of hemispheres. White sub¬ stance of corpus cal¬ losum. Water . 87-00 71-82 65-37 88-22 7215 63-54 83-57 69-19 71-55 Fat. 5-97 19-73 20-33 5-46 20-39 21-18 6-43 20-43 14-67 Albumen, &c. 7-03 8-45 14-30 6-32 7-46 15-28 10-00 10-38 13-78 Walther and Hauff. In 100 parts. Corpus callosum. Cortical substance. Medulla oblongata Arbor vitae. Male, get. 60. P Male, set. 60. ? Male, ,aet. 60. ? Male, aet. 60. ? Water . Fat. 70-61 15-41 70-81 14-90 86-38 4-84 1 85-00 4-86 69-74 15-21 72-48 15-12 81-36 6-06 79-94 5-96
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