The physiognomical system of Drs. Gall and Spurzheim

The theory that the functions of the brain can be localized in the cerebral cortex was introduced in somewhat fantastic form by Gall as organology and by his pupil Spurzheim as phrenology, their joint researches appearing in 1810-19. It contained many really important additions to cerebral anatomy and also the theory that the brain is a bundle of some 27 (later 37) separate "organs," presiding over the different moral, sexual, and intellectual traits of the individual, their size being proportional to the preponderance of these traits and manifested on the surface of the skull as protuberances. Many phrenology societies and journals were formed, but exploitation by quacks and charlatans soon made phrenology an object of derision among scientific men. -- H.W. Orr.