A Galvanized Corpse, a litography by Henry R. Robinson, 1850 (Image found on Library of Congress)
I love reading about antique scientists and their (sometimes) crazy theories about life and how it works on us humans. Galvanism, in that area, is one of my favorite subjects - and yes, it is partly because I adore Shelley's Frankenstein.
In medicine, the term "galvanism" refers to any form of medical treatment involving the application of pulses of electric current to body tissues provoking the contraction muscles that are stimulated by the electric current. If you thought about frog legs, you're on the right path. This effect was named by Alessandro Volta after his contemporary, the scientist Luigi Galvani, who investigated the effect of electricity on dissected animals in the 1780's and 1790's. Galvani himself, though, referred to the phenomenon as "animal electricity", believing that he had discovered a distinct form of electricity.
Before that, Isaac Newton had theorized a link between the "animal spirits" described in antiquity and the subtle electrical fluid hypothesized by physicists. Scientists Caldini and Fontana had realized that merely bringing an electrified rod within their close proximity would stimulate frogs. However, it was Galvani who determined that electricity was present within the animal itself. Based on his frog experiments he deduced that the contractions were caused by the flow of electricity and, when one occurred, a nervo-electric fluid was conducted from the nerves to the muscle.
Nowadays, the study of galvanic effects is called electrophysiology and the term "galvanism" is only used in historical contexts. I wonder if scientists say "IT'S ALIVE!!!!" everytime they put a current on a dead animal. I know I would!
In medicine, the term "galvanism" refers to any form of medical treatment involving the application of pulses of electric current to body tissues provoking the contraction muscles that are stimulated by the electric current. If you thought about frog legs, you're on the right path. This effect was named by Alessandro Volta after his contemporary, the scientist Luigi Galvani, who investigated the effect of electricity on dissected animals in the 1780's and 1790's. Galvani himself, though, referred to the phenomenon as "animal electricity", believing that he had discovered a distinct form of electricity.
Before that, Isaac Newton had theorized a link between the "animal spirits" described in antiquity and the subtle electrical fluid hypothesized by physicists. Scientists Caldini and Fontana had realized that merely bringing an electrified rod within their close proximity would stimulate frogs. However, it was Galvani who determined that electricity was present within the animal itself. Based on his frog experiments he deduced that the contractions were caused by the flow of electricity and, when one occurred, a nervo-electric fluid was conducted from the nerves to the muscle.
Nowadays, the study of galvanic effects is called electrophysiology and the term "galvanism" is only used in historical contexts. I wonder if scientists say "IT'S ALIVE!!!!" everytime they put a current on a dead animal. I know I would!
~Ally
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