P Gage Skull Complete 3

Phineas Gage became the center of a landmark neuroscience case when an explosion forced a red-hot tamping iron through this railroad foreman’s brain and skull. He survived, but reportedly suffered a personality change. This was the first evidence suggesting that the frontal lobe of the brain was linked to one’s personality. A more complete story is hosted at the website of the Warren Anatomical Museum at Harvard Medical School, which happens to be the current home of the original skull. It’s a fascinating case and an even more fascinating artifact. This anatomically accurate model can be printed to enable hands on exploration or to provide a source of inspiration. This work is a derivative of the CT scan made of the Phineas Gage Skull as discussed in The Tale of Phineas Gage, digitally remastered (Ratiu, P et. al., 2004), and is being shared with the kind permission of the Warren Anatomical Museum at Harvard Medical School’s Countway Library.