Document Detail


Medicosocial problems engendered with the discovery of the Bell-Magendie Law.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  18728581     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
The discovery of the Bell-Magendie Law, which states that the ventral spinal roots transmit motor impulses and the posterior roots sensory impulses, established a major landmark in the history of neuroscience. It led to further elucidation of brain function and served as a starting point for virtually all of electrophysiology. During the past two centuries, there has been an intense debate as to which of the two scientists deserves the credit for the discovery itself and the prominent claim to the discovery. Extensive literature exists in this regard, and the goal of the authors is not to dwell on it further but rather to summarize the arguments. The major objective of this work, however, is to elaborate on the two medicosocial issues that were brought into focus by the discovery of the Bell-Magendie Law, namely, the provision of adequate numbers of cadavers for the sound anatomic education of medical students, so that the despicable practice of "body-snatching" could be abolished, and the prevention of cruelty to the experimental animals used for biomedical research. Public opinion prevailing at the time of the postulation of the Bell-Magendie Law promoted the establishment of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and other similar societies were established worldwide. The authors summarize the current status of these two issues.
Authors:
Setti S Rengachary; Jonathan Lee; Murali Guthikonda
Publication Detail:
Type:  Historical Article; Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Neurosurgery     Volume:  63     ISSN:  1524-4040     ISO Abbreviation:  Neurosurgery     Publication Date:  2008 Jul 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2008-08-27     Completed Date:  2009-01-22     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7802914     Medline TA:  Neurosurgery     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  164-71; discussion 171-2     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Neurosurgery, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit Medical Center, Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA. srengachary@yahoo.com
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Animal Experimentation / ethics,  history*
Animal Welfare / history*
Animals
Ganglia, Spinal / physiology
History, 18th Century
History, 19th Century
Humans
Neurology / history*
Spinal Nerve Roots / physiology*

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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