It is painful to a philosopher to reflect, that his doubts cannot be cleared up until new victims shall fall under the sword of justice; but the hope that his researches may lead
to some new discovery beneficial to mankind, in a physiological point of view, lessens in a certain measure the disagreeable sensations excited by these melancholy scenes.
An assassin decapitated at Bologna, in the month of January 1802, afforded me an opportunity of verifying the truth of my former observations. In my first experiments on the human body, the dura and pia mater had been so little affected, that several of those present concluded that these parts were absolutely insensible to the action of the Galvanic pile; and this opinion was still further strengthened by the authority of several able anatomists. On the other hand, many warm-blooded animals, as will be seen hereafter, afforded contrary results. It is certain that nature, which is always consistent with itself in the action of that general principle which excites the muscular forces, ought to exhibit in the human body the same phænomena as those which constantly occur in other warm-blooded animals. I mentioned this anomaly to several of my colleagues, and particularly to that able anatomist Mondini, who, having made researches on this subject, communicated to me the result of them, and directed all the preparations necessary for the following experiments, modified according to the general views collected in the preceding observations.
EXPERIMENT XLIII.
The body of the criminal having been removed from the
place of execution to a neighbouring apartment, the trunk was placed on one table, and the head on another. On the latter stood a pile, composed of a hundred plates of zinc and copper, and on the former, a pile of a hundred plates of silver and zinc. This apparatus tended greatly to facilitate the rapid performance of the experiments, which were made at the same time on all the parts of the body, and enabled us to take advantage of its great vitality. I had with me a select company of young physicians and surgeons, who, being much interested in the progress of Galvanism, assisted me with great ardour. They were divided into two parties, each of which was stationed around one of the tables, in order that the operations performed at the one might not interrupt those at the other. To gratify Professor Mondini, who was desirous of seeing the muscular action in the whole head, an arc was established from the spinal marrow to one of the ears, the pile being interposed between them, and strong contractions were produced in the whole face, as had been the case in all the other animals.
EXPERIMENT XLIV.
Having sawn through the scull with every possible precaution, and an arc being established from the dura mater to one of the ears, the usual contractions ensued. The pia mater was then uncovered, and, by employing the same means, the same results and the same effects were produced as had been obtained in other animals.
EXPERIMENT XLV.
The cortical substance in the left hemisphere was uncovered, and an arc being extended from it to the right ear, the movements of the face were exceedingly sensible in the part opposite to the uncovered hemisphere. I repeated the experiment different ways with the same results, and found, as I suspected, that this process put an end to the anomaly observed in regard to the membranes and cortical substance, which at first seemed to withstand the general action of the Galvanic fluid, though it produced an effect on the other parts of the brain. Dr. Mondini took care to remove the superfluous moisture, both from the membranes and cortical substance, in order to prevent all suspicion that it might facilitate a communication, in any manner, with the medullary substance.