Society archivist Professor Laurence Garey has written a fascinating historical treatise on the brain, the soul and the mind (Bumps or holes: the seat of the soul). Take for example Descartes description of the pain reflex: "Put your foot in a fire: the flame burns the skin, which pulls a string, which opens a pore in a ventricle letting 'animal spirit' flow through a hollow tube to a leg muscle, and the foot withdraws". You can read the full text of his illustrated exploration of history through Plato, Democritus, Edwin Smith, al Razi, and Broca at
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