Neurophysiology Recitation of Texts Only: 1824-1889?

Today, we have the most sophisticated tools to study and learn science and medical subjects. Most of the ground breaking scientific and medical findings came out of a laboratory research that involves animal research or human research, without practical research, can't imagine the fate of our medical and scientific achievements. If that is true for general science and medical field, the progress we made in neuroscience in general and clinical neuroscience like Neurophysiology and Intraoperative neuromonitoring is an amazing break through of our learning using modern tools. What were they during just 200 years ago in physiology and neurophysiology?. Not much.......... Physiology was studied and taught by only reciting the texts like some of those Jabber's of religious scriptures in temples, really?. 

Yes, 

it seems during early to late 1800's the Physiology was taught by reciting the texts. For the very first time live animal demonstration in anesthetized animals was introduced in America by Dalton.

Neurology 2000;55:859-864
© 2000 American Academy of Neurology 

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Historical Neurology

John Call Dalton, Jr., MD

America’s first neurophysiologist

Edward J. Fine, MD, Tara Manteghi, BA, Sidney H. Sobel, MD and Linda A. Lohr, MA

From the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center and Department of Neurology (Dr. Fine and Ms. Manteghi), State University of New York at Buffalo; Finger Lakes Radiation Oncology (Dr. Sobel), Clifton Springs, NY; and the Robert L. Brown, MD, History of Medicine Collection (Ms. Lohr), State University at Buffalo, NY.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Edward J. Fine, Neurology Service, Department of Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center, 3495 Bailey Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14215.

Before the discoveries of John Call Dalton, Jr., MD (1824–1889), innervation of laryngeal muscles, long-term effects of cerebellar lesions, and consequences of raised intracranial pressure were poorly understood. Dalton discovered that the posterior cricoarytenoid muscles adducted the vocal cords during inspiration. He confirmed Flourens’ observations that acute ablation of the cerebellum of pigeons caused loss of coordination. Dalton observed that properly cared for pigeons gradually recovered "coordinating power." Dalton observed that prolonged raised intracranial pressure caused tachycardia and then fatal bradycardia in dogs. Before Dalton published his photographic atlas of the human brain, neuroanatomy atlases were sketched by Europeans and imported into the United States. Dalton’s atlas of the human brain contained precise photographs of vertical and horizontal sections that equal modern works. Before Dalton introduced live demonstrations of animals, physiology was taught by recitation of texts only. Dalton was the first American-born professor to teach physiology employing demonstrations of live animals operated on under ether anesthesia. He wrote an essay advocating experimentation on animals as the proper method of acquiring knowledge of function and that humane animal experimentation would ultimately improve the health of man and animals. His eloquent advocacy for humane experimental physiology quelled attacks by contemporaneous antivivisectionists. Dalton was America’s first experimental neurophysiologist.