Sir Charles Bell: His Life, Art, Neurological Concepts, and Controversial Legacy - Hardcover

by Michael J. Aminoff (Author)

Sir Charles Bell (1774-1842), the Scottish anatomist-surgeon, was a true polymath. His original ideas on the nervous system have been likened to those of William Harvey on the circulation of blood, and his privately published pamphlet detailing his ideas about the brain has been called the Magna Carta of neurology. He described the separate functions of different parts of the nervous system, new nerves and muscles, and several previously unrecognized neurological disorders, and he characterized the features of the facial palsy and its associated features now named after him. His sketches and paintings of the wounded from the Napoleonic Wars and his essays on the anatomical basis of expression changed the way art students are taught and influenced British and European artists, particularly the Pre-Raphaelites. He was a renowned medical teacher who founded his own private medical school, took over the famous Hunterian school, and helped establish the University of London and the Middlesex Hospital Medical School. So how is it that a man of such influence is virtually unknown today by most neuroscientists, biologists, and clinicians?

Author Biography

Dr. Aminoff was born in England and educated at University College London. He moved to California in 1974, where he has been Professor of Neurology at the University of California School of Medicine since 1982. He is well known as a neurologist, clinical neurophysiologist, educator, clinical investigator, author, journal editor, and medical historian. He has authored books on various neurological topics as well as edited several comprehensive textbooks that are widely used and have gone into several editions.