Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 1861

HENRY JACOB BIGELOW (1818-1890) Dr. Harlow's case of recovery from the passage of an iron bar through the head. (In American journal of the medical sciences. Vol. 19 (July 1850), pp. 13-22.) 21.9 cm.

For more information on this author or work, see number: 1859

Phineas P. Gage, an employee of the Rutland and Burlington Railroad, was tamping powder in a freshly drilled rock hole when the charge exploded prematurely and sent a 36 inch long, 13 pound iron bar through his head, from an entry point beneath his lower jaw. He was treated by Dr. John M. Harlow of Cavendish, Vermont and the case came to Bigelow's attention soon after it occurred on September 13, 1848. With Dr. Harlow's concurrence, Bigelow had the opportunity to examine and observe the patient for several weeks in Boston and prepared this report. Bigelow here presents a detailed history, including letters from Gage's landlord, a local clergyman, the physician who initially saw Gage, Dr. Harlow's case notes, as well as the results of his own examination. Bigelow commented that "it may be doubted whether the present is not the most remarkable history of injury to the brain which has been recorded" (p. 22).