How Russian Scientists Kept a Dog's Severed Head Alive!

5 years ago Science

severed dogs headPhoto:
image via Wikipedia

Can a head live without a body? The answer should be simple: yes, but only for a little while. Scientists say that the brain continues to function for about two minutes after the heart stops. But can a lopped off head continue to survive after being completely severed from the body?

Many would say no. However, it was widely reported in the media, that a Soviet scientist in the late 1920s by the name of Sergei Brukhonenko actually managed to keep the severed head of a dog alive. The dog’s head was reportedly connected to a primitive heart-lung machine called an “autojector” (or that’s what the inventor dubbed it). The device supposedly gives the head everything it needs to maintain life. Below is an illustrative video of how it’s meant to work (the actual video follows).

Brukhonenko presented a similar experiment in 1928 at an international scientific conference, at the Third Congress of Psysiologists of the USSR. However, his science has often been questioned. As proof of his dog experiment and to show that the head wasn’t just part of the corpse, a video follows where Brukhonenko does a series of tests. He shines a light in dog’s eyes making it blink. He hits the table with a hammer and the dog’s head reacts. And last but not least, to make things even more gross, he feeds the dog head a small piece of cheese, which lands on the table at the other end of the esophageal tube. Enjoy!

From that day forward controversy and speculation traveled the world over. Scientists divided in two camps: those who accepted the medical possibility and those who were skeptical. The latter suggest that the film may be just pure Soviet propaganda or simply medically impossible. What is interesting however, is that many physicians actually gave credit to Brukhonenko’s experiment, legitimizing the whole affair. So what do you think? Will we be able to replicate those live-heads off Futurama? Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

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Written by: Vlad Jecan

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Comments

Old Comments

tommy says

Mar 11th, 2010 at 12am
this is a hoax. why is it only now that there is info on this? kind of strange how good the audio and the video is for a video that was made in "1928". I call shenanigans

Jennifer says

Mar 10th, 2010 at 12am
EricaVee You and anyone else who thinks this is ok is disgusting. Who are we to take life into our own hands and mess with it. Cruelty is a good word to describe this. Does this poor animal feel any pain, confusion, distress? Erica and others like you.... I hope no one ever experiments on you. Personally, I don't believe that one life is more precious than another. No matter what species. But that's just me.

The Doctor says

Mar 7th, 2010 at 12am
Oh come off it, for one thing this video is, according to the article, almost 90 years old, so theirs no point shooting animal cruelty, and for another it is simply counter intuitive to the advancement of medical science to simply squirm is disgust because something or someone is getting heart. sure, they could have tried a convicted criminal or something, but the human brain and body is a much more complicated thing than a dog, and this research is necessary if this world is going to have any medical advancement beyond shooting yourself up with a cocktail of antibiotics and whatever else you would rather not want to know is going into your body. If you want my honest opinion, someone should try this again, see if its a hoax, and if it IS real, then just think what we could do with TODAY'S technology!

g2525 says

Mar 6th, 2010 at 12am
Fact or fiction? Since its Prelinger Archives release, the film has provoked much controversy. Ken Smith, author of Mental Hygiene: Classroom Films 1945 - 1970, believes the film is fake. He mentions, among other things, that the decapitated dog scene shown in the film could have been produced with simple special effects. Others are skeptical of J. B. S. Haldane's ties to the Communist party;[citation needed] they propose that the film was produced as Soviet propaganda. Bryukhonenko's decapitation experiment was remarked upon by George Bernard Shaw.[1] The procedure with severed head only mentioned oxygenated blood being fed back into the severed head. Neural cells require other components besides just oxygen to survive and function properly for anything but the briefest time. Also, the head jerks and moves at some moments, which would be impossible without the neck muscles attached to the torso and spinal bones. It seems likely that while experiments were really carried out, the operation depicted in the video was staged for the purpose of producing this science film. Bryukhonenko's research was vital to the development of open-heart procedures in Russia. He was one of the leaders of the Research Institute of Experimental Surgery, where Professor A.A. Vishnevsky performed the first Soviet open-heart operation in 1957.[citation needed] Bryukhonenko developed a new version of the autojektor (for use on humans) in the same year; it can be seen today on display at the Museum of Cardiovascular Surgery at the Scientific Center of Cardiovascular Surgery in Russia.[2] Bryukhonenko was awarded the prestigious Lenin Prize posthumously[ from wikipedia.com

Rick says

Feb 21st, 2010 at 12am
What this proves is that some 'human' beings are only fit for extermination.

Dany says

Feb 10th, 2010 at 12am
Feelin' sick seeing this. Hope this is just propaganda. But i think this is a fake. The camera was mounted to fake the consciousness. And: No blood nowhere?

Vicki says

Jan 29th, 2010 at 12am
Humans always have to stick their fucking noses into nature, In my opinion those experiments are very immoral and unnatural and I absolutely do not agree with them. Just take a look at those pictures and think about, what kind of diabolical creature would do that, to me this is extremely wrong... Only humans could do such a thing... Testing on animals doesn't give us any good outcomes because their reactions, bodies, nerve system and everything else is totally different to ours so there is no way that we can get good outcomes out of testing on animals.

JJ says

Dec 5th, 2009 at 12am
This is 100% hoax. Just to mention few facts that a complete anatomy-dummy can understand: While beheading neck muscles are cut so a head cannot swallow a thing. Moreover, no spine - no head movement. Does a beheaded head have a spine? No. So, things are clear now. And don't be sorry for the dog. He's probably fine with his body in place. :D

will says

Oct 18th, 2009 at 12am
i doubt they killed the dog for the sake of the experiment, it was probobly donated after death by somone. and as for the head there was still part of the neck attached accounting for that movement. The head did not "lift off the table", but jerked to a certain extent. Nothing earth shattering here, just basic physiology.

richard roy says

Oct 14th, 2009 at 12am
fking savages