Alexander Crum Brown: A Forgotten Pioneer in Vestibular Sciences

Dasgupta S., Mandala M., GÜNERİ E. A.

OTOLARYNGOLOGY-HEAD AND NECK SURGERY, vol.163, no.3, pp.557-559, 2020 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 163 Issue: 3
  • Publication Date: 2020
  • Doi Number: 10.1177/0194599820937671
  • Journal Name: OTOLARYNGOLOGY-HEAD AND NECK SURGERY
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, CAB Abstracts, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Veterinary Science Database
  • Page Numbers: pp.557-559
  • Keywords: Crum Brown, history of vestibular medicine, vestibular physiology
  • Dokuz Eylül University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Although vestibular anatomy was described in the Renaissance period, research in vestibular physiology began in the 1820s and was spearheaded by Purkinje and Flourens. This was subsequently expanded by Meniere, Helmholtz, Goltz, Mach, Breuer, Ewald, and Hogyes, who are regarded as the early pioneers in research on vestibular physiology in the 19th century. The relationship of endolymphatic flow and semicircular canal function is termed theMach-Breuer hypothesis. What is less well known is that a Scottish chemist, Alexander Crum Brown, arrived at similar conclusions as Mach and Breuer at the same time quite independently. In fact, he pioneered several concepts in vestibular physiology that included pairing of semicircular canals for function, the vestibular pathway, optic fixation elimination in vestibular experimentation, the theory of motion intolerance, and study in deaf mutes for insights into vestibular pathology and vestibular compensation. This article is a tribute to this forgotten pioneer in vestibular research.