GALL,FRANZ,JOSEF AND HIS CONTRIBUTION TO NEUROANATOMY WITH EMPHASIS ON THE BRAIN-STEM

Franz Josef Gall, born in 1758, studied medicine in Strasbourg and Vie nna and focused his research in two areas. His most notorious research was in craniofacial morphology that gradually evolved into the pseudo science of phrenology. His second research area was neuroanatomy. Alth ough Gall is usually best remembered for his inglorious introduction o f phrenology, his neuroanatomic contributions have more lasting signif icance. In this vignette we explore Gall's neuroanatomic contributions especially as they relate to brain stem anatomy. By means of blunt di ssection he was the first to describe the origins of several cranial n erves, including the trigeminal nucleus. It will be apparent that Gall -his dubious introduction of phrenology notwithstanding-was a pioneer in the description of brain stem anatomy.