Experiments on the Nervous System with Opium and Metalline Substances: Made Chiefly with the View of Determining the Nature and Effects of Animal ElectricityMonro, Alexander
Science
Experiments on the Nervous System with Opium and Metalline Substances: Made Chiefly with the View of Determining the Nature and Effects of Animal Electricity
Monro, Alexander
Electrophysiology -- Early works to 1800; Frogs -- Physiology; Nervous system -- Experiments -- Early works to 1800
I NEXT cut, at their _Pelves_ all the Parts but the Sciatic Nerves;
and at their Knees, I cut all the Parts but the Crural Nerves; and, in
all of them, I cut asunder the joining of the two hind Legs at their
Ossa Pubis. I then laid the Legs of all of them in a straight line,
supported on different Glass Vessels inverted, in such a manner that
the Foot of one Frog touched the Foot of the next to it.
HAVING then placed a Plate of Zinc under the Foot of the first Frog,
and holding in my left hand the Foot of the fourth or last Frog, I
touched the Zinc with a gold Probe which I held in my right hand; and
found that all the Muscles of the Loins, Thighs and Legs of the four
Frogs were convulsed.
21. WHEN I placed the two Frogs in the middle, with their Spines
contiguous to each other, and the Feet of both touching the Spines of
the other two Frogs forming the Extremities of the Chain, and of course
the Feet of one of these resting on the Zinc, and the Feet of the other
supported by my left hand: On touching the Zinc with the gold Probe
held in my right hand, all the Muscles of the Frogs were, as before,
convulsed.
22. WHEN I now turned aside the right Legs of all the Frogs, so that
they did not form a Chain by touching the next Frogs; the right Legs
were not convulsed.
IT is evident, that in whatever direction we suppose the influence to
have passed in its Circle, it must, in Experiment 20th, have passed
up one Leg and down the other in the same Frog: And, in Experiment
21st, if it passed from one end of the Chain to the other end of it,
it must have passed upwards in two of the Frogs, and downwards in the
other two; or if the influence passed from the two ends of the Chain
towards its middle, where the Spines of the two middlemost Frogs were
contiguous, it must have passed upwards in all of them.
23. WHEN after cutting four living Frogs transversely at the middle of
their Spines, but without cutting at their Pelves all the Parts but
the Sciatic Nerves, I placed the hind Parts of them in a Chain, as
in Experiments 20th, 21st and 22d, the Muscles were not convulsed on
applying the Gold to the Zinc.
I NEXT found, that after placing in contact with each other the several
Muscles which had been cut transversely in Experiments 20th, 21st and
22d, allowing the Nerves to remain undivided, the muscles were not
convulsed when I touched the Plate of Zinc with the gold Probe held in
my right hand, although I touched the other end of the Chain of Frogs
with my left hand.
THE reason why the Muscles were convulsed in Experiments 20th, 21st and
22d, and not in Experiment 23d, evidently is, that in the former, the
influence was concentrated in the Nerve, in the latter the influence
was diffused; that is, was in part conveyed by other Organs, as well as
by the Trunks of the Nerves.
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