Inova Regional Neurosurgery Service, Department of Neurosurgery, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Inova Campus, Falls Church, Virginia, USA.
World Neurosurg. 2011 May-Jun;75(5-6):750-3; discussion 624-5. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2010.12.008.
Charles Edouard Brown-Séquard was one of the most colorful characters in modern physiology. His scientific methods of self-experimentation and animal vivisection led to many great observations, including the eponymous syndrome of hemisection of the spinal cord. Despite his renown, he stayed but one year in his first major academic post. Details of his sojourn at the Medical College of Virginia (now part of Virginia Commonwealth University) in Richmond were divined from perusal of archival material, letters, and from the available literature. His notoriety in the field of physiology landed him a post at the Medical College of Virginia in 1854 as the chair of physiology. During a brief time here, he was able to publish his landmark monograph of 1855 on the pathways of the spinal cord "Experimental and Clinical Researches on the Physiology and Pathology of the Spinal Cord." He had a near-death experience while experimenting on himself to determine the function of the skin. It was rumored that his English was poor, his lectures unintelligible, and his scientific methods disturbing to the neighbors and that for those reasons he was asked to vacate his post. Personal communications and other accounts indicate a different view: his mixed-blood heritage and his views on slavery were unpopular in the pre-Civil War southern United States. These disparate viewpoints lend an insight into the life and career of this pioneer in modern medicine and experimental design and to the clash of science and social views.
查尔斯·爱德华·布朗-塞夸德（Charles Edouard Brown-Séquard）是现代生理学中最具特色的人物之一。他的自我实验和动物活体解剖科学方法带来了许多伟大的观察结果，其中包括同名的脊髓半切综合征。尽管他声名显赫，但他在第一个主要学术职位上只待了一年。通过查阅档案材料、信件和现有文献，推断出他在里士满弗吉尼亚医学院（现为弗吉尼亚联邦大学的一部分）逗留的细节。他在生理学领域的声名使他于 1854 年在弗吉尼亚医学院获得了生理学教授的职位。在短暂的任期内，他成功出版了 1855 年关于脊髓途径的里程碑式专论《脊髓生理学和病理学的实验和临床研究》。在对自己进行实验以确定皮肤功能时，他经历了一次濒死体验。有传言称他的英语很差，演讲难以理解，他的科学方法也让邻居感到不安，因此他被要求辞职。个人通讯和其他报道表明，情况并非如此：他的混血血统和他对奴隶制的看法在美国内战前的南方不受欢迎。这些不同的观点使人们深入了解这位现代医学和实验设计先驱的生活和职业，以及科学和社会观点之间的冲突。
