Unpublished paper, 'On the cortical connections of the optic nerves' by D J [David James] Hamilton

Description

Hamilton writes that 'it was for long believed that the optic nerves in the higher mammals, inclusive of man, tooke their origin entirely from the posterior extremity of the thalamus opticus and the corpora quadrigemina' until the work of [Louis Pierre] Gratiolet, who suggested that 'the optic tracts have a very large connection in man with the cerebral cortex.' Hamilton claims that this is 'almost literally true'. He presents further observations, including that 'the fibres in the ganglionic set are derived from the corpora geniculata, pulvinar and corpora quadrigemina, probably also directly from the substance of the thalamus'; that 'the cortical set join the chiasma and tract'; and that 'the junction of the chiasma with the cerebral cortex is brought about by means, of “Meynert’s commissure".'

Annotations in ink throughout.

Subject: Physiology

Received 17 April 1884. Read 1 May 1884. Communicated by [John Scott] Burdon-Sanderson.

Whilst the Royal Society declined to publish this paper in full, an abstract of the paper was published in volume 37 of the Proceedings of the Royal Society as 'On the cortical connexions of the optic nerves'.

Reference number

AP/63/4

Earliest possible date

1884

Physical description

Ink on paper

Page extent

38 pages

Format

Manuscript