[31]Galen taught that the nerves were hollow and carried the animal spirit from the brain to the periphery. The vital spirit (air) was carried by the arteries to the brain where, in the _rete mirabile_ it was transformed into the animal spirit. [32]The ancient idea that there were seven pairs of nerves did not disappear from anatomical teaching until Thomas Willis in 1664 increased the number to nine and Samuel Thomas Soemmerring in 1778 established the modern order of numbering the nerves into twelve pairs. In the account which follows Edwardes does not follow the ancient description of the cranial nerves. According to Galen, and indeed Vesalius, the olfactory nerves were not regarded as separate entities; moreover the glossopharyngeal, vagus, and accessory nerves were part of a single nerve. Edwardes does not describe the trigeminal or facial nerves nor the trochlear or abducent. The trochlear nerve had been described by Alessandro Achillini in 1520. The abducent nerve was to be described later by Eustachius. [33]Olfactory nerves. That Edwardes regarded them as functional units is worthy of note. [34]Optic nerves (the ancient first pair). [35]Oculomotor nerves (the ancient second pair). [36]A combination of the modern hypoglossal and trigeminal nerves (the seventh and third pairs). [37]Vagus nerves (part of the sixth pair). [38]Glossopharyngeal nerves (part of the sixth pair). [39]Auditory nerves (part of the fifth pair). Transcriber’s Notes —Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication. —Corrected a few palpable typos. —In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by _underscores_. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of David Edwardes: Introduction to Anatomy 1532, by Charles Donald O'Malley and Kenneth Fitzpatrick Russell