STUDIES ON THE PINEAL GLAND

Abstract

Introductory The ancients believed that the pineal body or cornarium, as it was called, regulated the flow of vital spirits from the brain to the spinal cord, acting in this capacity in a manner similar to the pylorus of the stomach. It was assumed that it was a part of the brain, capable of movement, and stood as a guard between the third and fourth ventricles. But it is remarkable to find in the works of Galen,¹⁰whose name still clings to the neighboring veins, that he used the term "acervulus" in describing the psammona or sand bodies found in the gland, and in his works recur such illuminating statements as the following: "The pineal was devised for the same purpose as the other glands of the body." In the first place, "it is in substance glandular," and, observing that the blood supply came from the same