Anatomy, descriptive and surgical

Henry Gray

Jan 1897 · Lea Brothers

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The average weight of the brain in the adult male is 49 1/2 oz., or a little more than 3 Ibs. avoirdupois ; that of the female 44 oz. ; the average difference between the two being from 5 to 6 oz. The prevailing weight of the brain in the male ranges between 46 oz. and 53 oz., and in the female between 41 oz. and 47 oz. In the male the maximum weight out of 278 cases was 65 oz., and the minimum weight 34 oz. The maximum weight of the adult female brain, out of 191 cases, was 56 oz., and the minimum weight 31 oz. According to Luschka, the average weight of a man's brain is 1424 grammes (about 45 oz.), of a woman's 1272 grammes (about 41 oz.), and, according to Krause, 1570 grammes (about 48 1/2 oz.) for the male, and 1350 (about 43 oz.) for the female. It appears that the weight of the brain increases rapidly up to the seventh year, more slowly to between sixteen and twenty, and still more slowly to between thirty and forty, when it reaches its maximum. Beyond this period, as age advances and the mental faculties decline, the brain diminishes slowly in weight, about an ounce for each subsequent decennial period. These results apply alike to both sexes. The size of the brain was formerly said to bear a general relation to the intellectual capacity of the individual. Cuvier's brain weighed rather more than 64 oz., that of the late Dr. Abercrombie 63 oz., and that of Dupuytren 62 1/2 oz.; On the other hand, the brain of an idiot seldom weighs more than 23 oz. But these facts are by no means conclusive, and it is well known that these weights have been equalled by the brains of persons who never displayed any remarkable intellect. Dr. Haldennan of Cincinnati has recorded the case of a mulatto, aged forty-five, whose brain weighed 68 3/8 oz.; he had been a slave, and was never regarded as particularly intelligent; he was illiterate, but is said to have been reserved, meditative, and economical. Dr. Ensor, district medical officer at Port Elizabeth, reports that the brain of Carey, the Irish informer, weighed 61 oz. M. Nikiforoff has published an article on the subject of the weight of brains in the Novosti. According to him, the weight of the brain has no influence whatever on the mental faculties.