The Human Brain: A Dynamic View... (Robert B. Livingston and Univ of California, 1975)

Using a technique called cinemorphology, this presentation illustrates the organic structure of the human brain. In the process, a brain is first embedded in plastic. Then the plastic block is placed on a giant microtome which slices off sections as thin as 25 microns. After each slice, a motion picture camera automatically photographs the newly exposed brain surfaces remaining in the plastic block and, when these sections are shown in sequence, a dynamic picture of the brain structures results. As a further use of the technique, frames are projected onto sheets of paper where structures are traced by an electronic pen, thus transferring each point to a computer. From these points, the computer constructs the entire brain or individual brain surfaces, which appear as line drawings for display on a video screen. These drawings are then titled, rotated and tinted, illustrating in a highly effective manner the relationships of the major anatomical structures of the brain.

Learn more about this film and search its transcript at NLM Digital Collections: http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/7602448A

Learn more about the National Library of Medicine's historical audiovisuals program at: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/collectio...