1st. The two ends retract in opposite directions; there exists between these divided ends a space proportional to the retraction. This retraction is not in proportion, as has been thought, to the degrees of the contractions of the muscle; if it was, it would be sufficient in a transverse wound, in order to bring the divided edges together, to place the limb in the greatest possible relaxation; now oftentimes, in these cases, these ends still remain at a distance; then the retraction is often superior to the greatest contraction of the muscle considered in its natural state. 2d. The antagonist of the divided muscle which has no effort to overcome, contracts and makes the moveable part incline from its side, if there are not other muscles, which acting in the direction of the first supply its functions. This last phenomenon takes place also to a certain extent in paralysis of the face. The mouth is then drawn from the sound side. I have observed however in this respect, that this deviation is never as evident as it would be by the division of the paralytic muscle, which has preserved its contractility of texture. This remaining contractility forms a partial equilibrium with that of the muscles of the sound side, during the absence of motions; thus the deviations do not become very evident until the patients wish to speak, until consequently the vital forces bring into action the sound muscles, which the others cannot oppose. The paralysis of the sterno-mastoideus exhibits for the whole head a phenomenon analogous to that which the preceding muscles produce for the mouth. Strabismus also oftentimes arises from this cause. In general in all the phenomena, it is necessary to distinguish that which belongs to the vital forces, from that which arises from the contractility of texture. The muscles are antagonists as it respects these forces, as well as it respects this contractility; now as the contraction dependant on the nervous influence or irritability, is much more conspicuous than that arising from the organic texture, the phenomena of the antagonists are much more striking in paralysis, when the sound muscles are brought into action in the first manner. It appears that in many cases of paralysis, the contractility of texture of the affected side is also a little altered; but it is never so completely destroyed, that in the amputation of a paralyzed limb, there is no muscular retraction. I have made this experiment upon a dog; the nerves having been cut ten days before, and the limb having remained immoveable since that period, the division of the muscles produced a manifest separation between their edges; and even, in afterwards cutting for the sake of comparison the limb that remained sound, I did not find any difference.