Editing Galvanism (section)

==Scientific and intellectual legacy==

===Literature===
[[File:Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.tif|thumb|187x187px|Mary Shelley]]
[[Mary Shelley|Mary Shelley's]] ''[[Frankenstein]]'', wherein a man stitches together a human body from corpses and brings it to life, was inspired in part by the theory and demonstrations of Galvanism which may have been conducted by [[James Lind (physician, born 1736)|James Lind]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Para. 10, Intro., Shelley|first=Mary|title=Frankenstein|year=1831}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Lind, James (1736-1812) on JSTOR|url=https://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.person.bm000033179|access-date=2021-05-08|website=plants.jstor.org|doi=}}</ref> Although the Creature was described in later works as a composite of whole body parts grafted together from cadavers and reanimated by the use of electricity, this description is not consistent with Shelley's work;<ref>{{Cite web|title=Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus (First Edition, 1818)/Volume 1/Chapter 3|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Frankenstein,_or_the_Modern_Prometheus_(First_Edition,_1818)/Volume_1/Chapter_3}}</ref> both the use of electricity and the cobbled-together image of Frankenstein's monster were more the result of James Whale's popular [[Frankenstein (1931 film)|1931 film adaptation of the story]].

===Abiogenesis===
Galvanism influenced metaphysical thought in the domain of [[abiogenesis]], the underlying process of the generation of living forms. In 1836, [[Andrew Crosse]] recorded what he referred to as "the perfect insect, standing erect on a few bristles which formed its tail," as having appeared during an experiment wherein he used electricity to produce mineral crystals. While Crosse himself never claimed to have generated the insects, even in private, the scientific world at the time viewed the connection between life and electricity to be sufficiently clear that he received threats against his life for this "blasphemy."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Crosse|first=Cornelia A H|title=Memorials scientific and literary of Andrew Cross, the electrician|publisher=London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans and Robert|year=1857}}</ref>

===Medicine===
Giovanni Aldini is claimed to have applied Galvanic principles (application of electricity to biological organisms) in successfully alleviating the symptoms of "several cases of insanity", and with "complete success".<ref>{{Cite book|last=René Just Haüy|title=An Elementary Treatise on Natural Philosophy, Volume 2|year=1807|pages=56}}</ref> Today, [[electroconvulsive therapy]] is used as a treatment option for severely depressed pregnant mothers<ref name="Pompili2014Rev">{{cite journal|vauthors=Pompili M, etal|date=Dec 2014|title=Electroconvulsive treatment during pregnancy: a systematic review|journal=Expert Rev Neurother|volume=14|issue=12|pages=1377–90|doi=10.1586/14737175.2014.972373|pmid=25346216|s2cid=31209001}}</ref> (as it is the least harmful for the developing fetus) and people suffering treatment-resistant [[major depressive disorder]]. It is found to be effective for half of those who receive treatment while the other half may relapse within 12 months.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Dierckx|first1=Bram|last2=Heijnen|first2=Willemijn T|last3=van den Broek|first3=Walter W|last4=Birkenhäger|first4=Tom K|date=2012|title=Efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy in bipolar versus unipolar major depression: a meta-analysis: ECT in bipolar versus unipolar depression|journal=Bipolar Disorders|volume=14|issue=2|pages=146–150|doi=10.1111/j.1399-5618.2012.00997.x|pmid=22420590|s2cid=44280002}}</ref>

The modern application of electricity to the human body for medical diagnostics and treatments is practiced under the term [[electrophysiology]]. This includes the monitoring of the electric activity of the heart, muscles, and even the brain, respectively termed [[electrocardiography]], [[electromyography]], and [[electrocorticography]].