"Every being has its own interior, its self, its mystery, its numinous aspect. To deprive any being of this sacred quality is to disrupt the total order of the universe"
- Thomas Berry, Theologian

Gruesome patent

On 19 May 1987 the United States Patent Office gave a patent to Chet Fleming of St Louis, Missouri, for a "Device for Perfusing an Animal Head". The "device" would allow the severed head of a chimpanzee or monkey to be kept alive. In addition: - "It might be possible to use this invention on terminally ill persons".

The "Summary of the Invention" notes that:

This invention relates to a device, referred to herein as a "cabinet" which will provide physical and biomechanical support for an animal's head which has been "discorporated" or "discorped" (ie severed from its body ). This device can be used to supply a discorped head with oxygenated blood and nutrients, by means of tubes connected to arteries which pass through the neck. If desired, the spine may be left attached to the discorped head... the severed head preferably should retain all the sensory organs, and the vocal cords if desired... the discorped head might experience a period of consciousness after it has been severed from the body.

A "Detailed Description of the Invention" follows, from which extracts follow:

The head of a laboratory animal such as a chimpanzee or rhesus monkey may be severed from the body and coupled to the "cabinet" described herein, using means known to experimental surgeons. After this invention has been thoroughly tested on lab animals, it might also be possible to use this invention on terminally ill persons, subject to various government approvals and other legal requirements. Various control devices may be used to add any desired nutrient or other substance to the blood, to keep the blood values within desired (normally physiological limits) or to conduct any particular type of experimentation.

The "cabinet" is equipped with means for mounting the head in a position such that the veins and arteries which emerge from the head can be connected to the venous and arterial cannualae. This can be accomplished by inserting one or more surgical pins into the vertebrae in the neck, or by immobilising the neck with an inflatable or padded collar... if desired the "cabinet" may be equipped to allow the head to be inclined, for ease of access during surgery.

If desired, the surgical cuts may be made in such a way that the larynx (which contains the vocal cords) remains attached to the head. The severed end of the trachea (wind pipe) may be sutured to a tube carrying slightly compressed, humidified air, so that the primate or human head may use its vocal cords if it is conscious. The compressor may be controlled by a switch mounted below the chin of the head so that the animal or human may turn the compressor on or off by opening its mouth.

The device of this invention can be manufactured and sold, and it may be used for various purposes such as analysis of drugs which are metabolized by the liver into undesired compounds or which cannot cross the blood-brain barrier.

References are made to "Other Publications" which include an article entitled "Brain" by monkey head transplanter Robert White, published in 1981, a book entitled "Heads" by David Osborne, published in 1985, and a book entitled "The Tomorrow File" by Lawrence Sanders, published in 1975 - NZAVS emphasis added.

Footnote: Infamous head-swapper Dr R White announced in 1984, after years of transplanting monkey's heads, that he was ready to transplant a human head. Anyone interested in a head swap should write to: Dr Robert White, Case Western U. Cleveland Ohio USA.

(Continued next page)