Phineas Gage Case Study
Phineas Gage
The case of Phineas Gage is a common topic among those in the field of medicine and all of its counterparts for many reasons. Phineas Gage was a 25-year-old railroad construction foreman until the unbelievable occurred. On September 13th 1848 Gage and his men were working on the Rutland and Burlington Railroad located in Vermont when all of the sudden Gage had a 3ft 8in tamping iron go straight through his skull. The iron entered through his left maxilla and exited through the top of his skull to be recovered around 30 yards behind him. However, this did not kill Gage as he was up and walking within minutes of the accident and this is what makes this case so intriguing. This rare case of what many would classify as a fatal incident …show more content…
Mainly to have the ability for thoughts and actions to match up with internal goals. The damage was analyzed after his death by Libert et al by using a computed tomography scan of his skull. In this scan the damage gained more detail by finding that his Left and Right Pre-Frontal Cortices were effected but limited to the left hemisphere. The damage caused by this unfortunate incident acted as some form of a frontal lobotomy, a lobotomy is explained as “A surgical procedure in which the nerve pathways in a lobe or lobes of the brain are severed from those in other areas.” By Encyclopaedia Britannica. After his incident many referred to him as able to retain his “full possession of reason.” However, he went through a personality change that changed who he was entirely. Changing from a man who was described as “efficient and capable” by his peers before the injury to someone who would throw fits often, irreverent, and using some of the harshest language (which was not his usual choice of words) is quite astonishing. Honestly for the damage received it was probably one of the best outcomes for
The case of Phineas Gage is a common topic among those in the field of medicine and all of its counterparts for many reasons. Phineas Gage was a 25-year-old railroad construction foreman until the unbelievable occurred. On September 13th 1848 Gage and his men were working on the Rutland and Burlington Railroad located in Vermont when all of the sudden Gage had a 3ft 8in tamping iron go straight through his skull. The iron entered through his left maxilla and exited through the top of his skull to be recovered around 30 yards behind him. However, this did not kill Gage as he was up and walking within minutes of the accident and this is what makes this case so intriguing. This rare case of what many would classify as a fatal incident …show more content…
Mainly to have the ability for thoughts and actions to match up with internal goals. The damage was analyzed after his death by Libert et al by using a computed tomography scan of his skull. In this scan the damage gained more detail by finding that his Left and Right Pre-Frontal Cortices were effected but limited to the left hemisphere. The damage caused by this unfortunate incident acted as some form of a frontal lobotomy, a lobotomy is explained as “A surgical procedure in which the nerve pathways in a lobe or lobes of the brain are severed from those in other areas.” By Encyclopaedia Britannica. After his incident many referred to him as able to retain his “full possession of reason.” However, he went through a personality change that changed who he was entirely. Changing from a man who was described as “efficient and capable” by his peers before the injury to someone who would throw fits often, irreverent, and using some of the harshest language (which was not his usual choice of words) is quite astonishing. Honestly for the damage received it was probably one of the best outcomes for