Medieval Images of the Brain Detail

Schematic view of the brain from a manuscript at Oxford. The front of the brain is to the left, and the posterior brain is to the right. Below the figure is written: "Hic ymaginatur esse totum cerebrum in animalibus." To the left is "nervi otici" (optic nerves). Outside and above the circle are written pars anterior, pars media and pars postrema.

Inside the circle, at top, the four labeled compartments are: "primus ventriculus," "secundus ventriculus primae partis cerebri," "primus ventriculus secundae partis cerebri," and "secundus ventriculus eiusdem partis cerebri." Inside the circle, the five main compartements are labeled (from left to right): (1) sensus communis, qui componit solum species rerum sensatarum a sensibus exterioribus et etiam di(vi)ditur; ponit duas inter eas (2) Ymaginativa sive virtus fantastica, quae reservativa est solarum specierum sensatarum sive dividit, et etiam rerum insensatarum sic est mons aureus ycocervus (?), quae nunquam fuerunt sensatarum (3) fantasia sive imaginativa, quae solum componit species rerum sensatarum, sive dividit et etiam rerum insensatarum, sic est mons aureus ycovernus et quae nunquam sensata, secundum sic tota (4) extimativa sive cogitativa, quae ex speciebus sensatarum elicet species rerum insensatarum et componit eas ad invicem et di(vi)dit, quod non potest facere fantasia (5) virtus memorativa, quae solummodo reservat tam species rerum sensatarum, quam species rerum insensatarum, quod non potest facere imaginativa sive fantastica.

In summary, the five areas are (1) sensus communis, (2) imagination, (3) fantasy, (4) estimation, and (5) memory.

Reference: Sudhoff, W. (1913) Die Lehre von den Hirnventrikeln in textlicher und graphischer Tradition des Altertums und Mittelalters. Archiv. Fur Geschichte der Medizin VII, 149-205, figure 8.