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566 Journal of the History of Medicine : October IQ78 to Be, Or the Studies on How Effective They Might Have Been

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566 Journal of the History of Medicine : October IQ78 to Be, Or the Studies on How Effective They Might Have Been 566 Journal of the History of Medicine : October IQ78 to be, or the studies on how effective they might have been. Only in the case of the pill does he recount some of the processes involved. Reed also accepts Kings- ley Davis's dictum that social values were more important than contraceptive technology in disseminating ideas about family planning, a proposition which is far more controversial than Reed realizes. In sum Reed has written a good summary account of the birth control move- Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhmas/article/XXXIII/4/566/769982 by guest on 30 September 2021 ment in American society, but it is far from a definitive work. There is still a lot more that we need to know about the contraceptive movement, including the numerous secondary figures who receive only a brief mention in Reed's work, the changing role and status of women, and numerous other developments ig- nored by Reed. The book is indexed, the footnotes are ample, and there is a bibliographic guide to the sections. ALEXANDER WALKER. Documents and Dates of Modem Discoveries in the Nerv- ous System. A facsimile of the original edition, London, 1839, with an intro- duction by Paul F. Cranefield. (History of Medicine Series No. 40). Pub- lished under the auspices of the Library of the New York Academy of Med- icine. Metuchen, N.J., Scarecrow Press, 1973. 172 pp. $7.50. Reviewed by TIMOTHY BECHTOLD, graduate student, Department of His- tory of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455. This interesting little book is a collection of various classic papers pertaining to the spinal root controversy which were gathered together by Alexander Walker (1779-1852). In collecting these papers Walker wished to demonstrate that he, and not Francois Magendie or Charles Bell, actually deserved the credit for elucidating the functions of the dorsal and ventral spinal roots. Walker ap- prenticed in anatomy with Dr. John Barclay at Edinburgh, and at age twenty went to London to study anatomy further under John Abernethy at St. Bar- tholomew's Hospital. Never graduating in medicine or surgery, Walker lec- tured on anatomy at the Lyceum in Edinburgh for a time in 1808. Later he returned to London where he founded the Literary Gazette. Walker's claim rests on an 1808 paper he had published in which he located the nerves of sensation as centered in the cerebrum, while the medulla and cerebellum are the source of all nerves of volition or motion. Walker couples this paper with his 1809 paper in the Archives of Universal Science as his evidence. In this latter paper Walker traced the medullary fibres of the spine up to the cerebrum via various structures and an efferent pathway back down to the spine. Thus through anatomical reasoning Walker concluded that the nerves of sensation ascend the anterior column of the spinal cord while the nerves of motion descend the posterior column—padiways opposite to those claimed by Bell and Magendie. Walker cited no actual dissections or experiments in evidence. Book Reviews 567 Walker also quoted from, paraphrased, or reproduced in toto some of the papers written by Charles Bell and Francois Magendie. Bell's Idea of a New Anatomy of the Brain is included as well as Bell's 1821 paper in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. Walker noted that in later editions of the latter paper, Bell introduced new material with the 1821 date retained, thereby depriving 'Magendie and Mayo of their unquestionable priority on some im- Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhmas/article/XXXIII/4/566/769982 by guest on 30 September 2021 portant points.' Walker cited three of Magendie's papers, and pointed out seeming discrepancies in Magendie's second paper (October 1822) so that Ma- gendie's research appeared to show motor and sensory functions in both the dorsal and ventral roots. The actual facts were more complex, but Walker thereby attempted to discredit his rivals and take credit himself. Walker also included papers by Robert Whytt on reflex action and involun- tary movement, Georgius Prochaska on the 'sensorium commune' and spon- taneous-automatic action, Marshall Hall on reflexes in decerebrate animals, James Copland on nerve ganglia outside the central nervous system, and several others. The book is a fine anthology of neurophysiological research up to 1834, even though Walker's claims to priority are quite preposterous. R. G. W. ANDERSON and A. D. C. SIMPSON, eds. Edinburgh and Medicine. A Commemorative Catalogue of the Exhibition held at the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh, June 1976-January 1977 to mark the 250th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Edin- burgh 1726-1976. With a Foreword by H.R.H. Prince Philip, K.G., K.T. Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh. Edinburgh, Royal Scottish Mu- seum, 1976. vii, 72 pp., illus. [no price given]. R. G. W. ANDERSON and A. D. C. SIMPSON, eds. The Early Years of the Edinburgh Medical School. Edinburgh, Royal Scottish Museum, 1976. viii, 124 pp. [no price given]. Reviewed by KENNETH M. LUDMERER, M.D., Department of Internal Med- icine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110. These two companion volumes have been published in tribute to the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Edinburgh. The first booklet, Edinburgh and Medicine, is the commemorative catalogue to an exhibition produced by the Royal Scottish Museum in cele- bration of the occasion. It contains some fine plates as well as a listing of all the exhibits at the showing. The volume is handsomely produced and leaves little doubt as to the quality and scope of the exhibition. Its usefulness as a historical piece, however, is limited..
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