The reception of Gall’s organology in early-nineteenth-century Vilnius

Abstract

Much has been written about the development and reception of Franz Joseph Gall's (1758-1828) ideas in Western Europe. There has been little coverage, however, of how his Schädellehre or organology was received in Eastern Europe. With this in mind, we examined the transmission and acceptance/rejection of Gall's doctrine in Vilnius (now Lithuania). We shall focus on what two prominent professors at Vilnius University felt about organology. The first of these men was Andrew Sniadecki (1768-1838), who published an article on Gall's system in the journal Dziennik Wileński in 1805. The second is his contemporary, Joseph Frank (1771-1842), who wrote about the doctrine in his memoirs and published an article on phrenology in the journal Bibliotheca Italiana in 1839. Both Frank and Sniadecki had previously worked in Vienna's hospitals, where they became acquainted with Gall and his system, but they formed different opinions. Sniadecki explained the doctrine not only to students and doctors but also to the general public in Vilnius, believing the new science had merit. Frank, in contrast, attempted to prove the futility of cranioscopy. Briefer mention will be made of the assessments of Johann Peter Frank (1745-1821) and Ludwig Heinrich Bojanus (1776-1827), two other physicians who overlapped Gall in Vienna and went to Vilnius afterward. Additionally, we shall bring up how a rich collection of human skulls was used for teaching purposes at Vilnius University, and how students were encouraged to mark the organs on crania using Gall's system. Though organology in Vilnius, as in many other places, was always controversial, it was taught at the university, accepted by many medical professionals, and discussed by an inquisitive public.

Cerebral localization of higher functions: The period between Thomas Willis and Paul Broca

“…His biological manuscripts (1738-1744) remained unknown for more than one century, and despite finally being published (1882-1887), their impact was delayed. 9 , 10 Jiri (Georg) Prochaska then considered that the various ‘cogitating parts’ (faculties) required different portions of the cerebrum, but without mentioning a specific localization for them (1779-1784). 11 , 12 Finally, Franz Joseph Gall (with collaboration of Johann Gaspar Spurzheim), recognized distinct functions related to cerebral ‘organs’, perceived via reliefs of the head (skull), according to his peculiar localization criteria.…”

“…However, his ideas were recognized by many as the main forerunners of the concept of localizationism. 2 , 10 …”

Franz Joseph Gall on the Cerebellum as the Organ for the Reproductive Drive

“…Bojanus provided two early accounts of what Gall was covering in his Vienna lectures, one in French in 1801 and the other in English a year later (Bojanus, 1801, 1802; Sakalauskaitė-Juodeikiene et al, 2017, in press). These articles were titled “Encephalo-Cranioscopie.…”

“…Sniadecki was born in Żnin, in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (Sakalauskaitė-Juodeikiene et al, 2017). After completing his medical studies in Vilnius, he worked in the Vienna hospitals and became acquainted with Gall and his ideas.…”

“…He chose “Krótki Wykład Systematu Galla z przyłączniem niektórych uwag nad iego Nauką” (“Short Lecture on the System of Gall With Some Comments About his Science”) as his title, and it appeared in the journal Dziennik Wilenski (see Sakalauskaitė-Juodeikiene et al, 2017). In it, he first mentioned two organs related to life itself: an organ of vital force and an organ of binding (tenacity) to life.…”