Prefrontal Lobotomy in the Treatment of Mental Disorders (GWU, 1942)

This film describes and demonstrates a prefrontal lobotomy, an operative procedure employed in mental disorders resistive to other methods of treatment. The procedure consists of cutting the white matter in each frontal lobe in the plane of the coronal suture. This passes just anterior to the frontal horn of the ventricle and interrupts the anterior thalamic radiation. This film includes a written description of the procedure, review of landmarks on the skull and frontal lobe on a demonstration skull and brain, operation on a live patient, and X-rays taken after the operation. Filmed with cooperation of George Washington University. Learn more about this film and search its transcript at NLM Digital Collections: Learn more about the National Library of Medicine’s historical audiovisuals program at: