Phineas Gage audio transcript Modern medicine has made it possible for doctors to save lives in ways that would have been unheard of in the past.
Name Date "I Survived…" Phineas Gage audio transcript Modern medicine has made it possible for doctors to save lives in ways that would have been unheard of in the past. Before 1928, scientists had no knowledge of penicillin, the bacteria-killing drug that stops infections. Before 1901, blood transfusions were unsuccessful because doctors didn’t know about blood types. Before 1895, x-ray technology didn’t exist, so there was no way to see inside the human body. Before the 1860s, doctors didn’t even wash their hands or sterilize surgical instruments. Imagine, then, the medical environment in 1848, when Phineas Gage survived a large metal rod being blown through his skull. In fact, it was Gage’s injury and recovery that gave doctors of the era more insight into the workings of the human brain than they’d ever had before. Not only did Gage survive his accident, but his case has survived more than 170 years of history as a medical marvel. Twenty-five-year-old Phineas Gage worked as a foreman on a railroad construction crew in Cavendish, Vermont. His crew cleared rock to level the ground for new railroad lines. This often involved the dangerous use of explosives, an imperfect technology at the time (dynamite wouldn’t be invented for another couple of decades). In order to blast away rock, Gage’s crew would drill into the rock and pour in gunpowder. They’d cover the gunpowder with sand to keep it contained, famp down on the sand to pack the explosive into the rock, and insert a fuse On the afternoon of September 13, 1848, Gage performed the job of tamping down the explosive charge. To do so, he used a tamping rod – a 13-pound metal rod that was almost four feet in length and more than an inch in diameter. The tamping rod was blunt at one end for tamping down the sand, while the other end tapered to a sharp point for poking a hole to set the fuse. Accounts of the accident indicate that Gage tamped directly on the gunpowder, forgetting to wait for the sand. The tamping rod struck the rock, causing a spark that ignited a blast. The explosion sent the tamping rod, all four feet of it, rocketing through Gage’s head. It entered just below his left cheekbone, tore through the left frontal lobe of his brain, and exited through the top of his skull. The tamping rod landed more than 80 feet away. Not only did Gage survive the injury, but by some accounts he never even lost consciousness. Immediately after the blast, onlookers had no idea of the extent of Gage’s injury. However, it was decided that he should go into town to see the doctor. When his ox-drawn cart arrived in town, Gage, fully conscious and able to talk, walked himself to the porch of the inn where he was staying. While waiting for the doctor to arrive, he accurately described his accident to those nearby. Dr. Edward H. Williams, who examined Gage, noticed right away that he could see the brain through the hole in the top of Gage’s skull. The doctor didn’t believe Gage’s story that the tamping rod had been blown right through his head, though. At one point, Gage got up to vomit, the force of which caused a considerable amount of brain material to push out through the open wound. Despite his condition, Gage could recount the accident and name his co- workers. He believed he’d be back to work in a day or two. Other than developing an infection that left him in a semi-coma for almost a week, Gage’s immediate recovery was astonishing. He lost sight in his left eye and had scars on his face and head, but he had no speech, motor, or memory impairments. After a few months, Gage regained his strength and returned to work. 82021 EB Academic Comps, LLC A
Although Gage was physically able to work, the railroad construction company would no longer employ him. It seems that the injury to his brain caused drastic, permanent changes to his personality. Before the accident, the company described Gage as "temperate," "efficient and capable," and a "great favorite" with his crew. Afterward, however, even close friends felt he was not the same man. The railroad report describes the post-accident Gage as "fitful," "profane," "impatient," and "obstinate." Gage jumped from job to job, traveling across the country and even as far as Chile. He kept his tamping iron with him as a constant companion, at some point engraving it with the words, "This is the bar that was shot through the head of Mr. Phineas P. Gage." After eleven years, Gage died of seizures, likely an effect of his brain injury. No autopsy was performed at the time, so the exact nature of his brain damage is unknown. The fact that Phineas Gage survived his horrific accident is not just a medical marvel. It was a first window of insight into the field of neurology. Based on his injury and the resulting personality changes, doctors began to understand that different areas of the brain control different functions. Years after his death, Gage’s body was exhumed, and his skull given to medical science. Today, the skull and the tamping iron are housed in a museum at Harvard Medical School, where Gage is known as "neuroscience’s most famous patient." 32021 EB Academic Comps, LLC A
Name Date Summary Scribble OTHER organizer MAIN IDEAS THOUGHTS Student Directions: Now that you have listened to "I Survived…’ Phineas Gage" and taken shorthand notes, it’s time to get more organized! First, write the author’s message or purpose below the train. Then, using your notes, write down the main ideas and important details. The IMPORTANT DETAILS challenge: Don’t forget anything that should be included in a summary, but don’t add any details that do not belong in a summary! The steam is where you can capture your other, more "free-floating" thoughts. This includes items like questions you have about the text, connections you can make with the text, words or phrases that stood out to you, etc. Be creative! AUTHOR’S MESSAGE OR PURPOSE 92021 EB Academic Camps, LLC A
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