By Dr. O. Clarkson Surgical instruments used in early lobotomies consisted of a leucotome or orbitoclast and a mallet as depicted in this illustration. The era of the lobotomy marks one of the most disturbing chapters in modern medical history, not only because of its cruelty, but also because it emerged from a sense of sheer scientific hubris. For a brief yet troubling period, the deliberate destruction of brain tissue was celebrated as a therapeutic breakthrough. It was a s
