On pilo-motor nerves / by J. N. Langley and C. S. Sherrington.

  • Langley, J. N. (John Newport), 1852-1925.
Date:
[1891]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On pilo-motor nerves / by J. N. Langley and C. S. Sherrington. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by UCL Library Services. The original may be consulted at UCL (University College London)

    11/24 (page 283)
    the submaxillary ganglion of the dog and cat, and Langley and Dickinson^ for the superior cervical ganglion of the cat and rabbit, the nerve-cells of the ganglion in the course of nerve-fibres of different kinds, though coexisting in one and the same ganglion, are not all paralysed at the same time. In the monkey it appears from the experiment given that those cells in the superior cervical ganglion which belong to the pupillo-dilator nerve-fibres are earlier affected by doses of nicotin than are those belonging to the pilo-motor nerve-fibres. Thus, after a certain amount of nicotin had been injected, stimu- lation of the sympathetic in the neck had no effect on the hair, although stimulation of the upper end of the superior cervical ganglion still caused erection. The pilo-motor fibres, then, are connected with nerve-cells in the superior cervical ganglion. Only one experiment of the kind was made since the result as far as the main point was concerned appeared to be decisive. The inference is further borne out by the results of the following experiment in which degeneration of the cervical sympathetic was employed as a method of examination after the manner introduced by Waller. Experiment. Mac. rhoesus, young, ^. Two cm. of the lower part of the left cervical sympathetic were excised, and ten days later, the small wound having completely healed in the interval, both cervical sympathetica were exposed, the left up to the superior ganglion. To the naked eye the left trunk appeared normal. The lower end of the piece above the excision had been turned upwai-d at the time of the excision, and was found to be in the position in which it had been left; it was not imbedded in scar tissue even at its extreme end. The length of trunk available for stimulation below the superior ganglion was about 3 cm. Stimulation of the right trunk gave the usual effects on skin with induced currents, when the secondary coil was distant 32 cm. from the primary. By stimulation of the left trunk no effects could be obtained even with the secondary at 5 cm., and although series of shocks at various rates were tried. But stimulation of the top of the left superior ganglion gave results as under : secondary at 12'cm. from primary gave no effect on pupil, at 11 cm. good effect. „ „ 14 cm. „ „ „ „ „ „ hair, „ 13 cm. ,, „ . It seems therefore that in the monkey ten days after section of the sympathetic trunk in the neck, the part of the nerve above the section loses its excitability as far as up to the superior ganglion for hair and 1 Pvoc. Roy. Soc. xlvii. p. 379, 1890.