Physiological Researches on Life and DeathBichat, Xavier
Science
Physiological Researches on Life and Death
Bichat, Xavier
Death (Biology); Life (Biology)
In red and cold-blooded animals, the death of the heart does not
succeed the death of the brain so quickly as it does in red and
warm-blooded animals. Cut off the head of a frog, and the heart
will continue to beat for some time afterwards. This phenomenon
will be easily accounted for, if we recollect that respiration with
these animals may be suspended a length of time, without arresting
the movements of the heart.
In fact, as the heart dies only because the lungs die in the
first place, when the cerebral functions are interrupted, it is
plain that there ought to exist between the violent death of the
heart and that of the brain, an interval nearly equal to that
during which, in the natural state, there may be a suspension of
respiration.
FOOTNOTES:
[114] Physiologists have paid much attention to the great
sympathetic nerve. They have made, in relation to its uses, many
conjectures but few experiments; so that we have not on this
subject any very precise notions. The deep situation of the
ganglions renders them almost inaccessible, the superior cervical
is almost the only one that can be taken out without producing
death. M. Dupuy, Professor of the Veterinary School at Alfort, has
discovered a method by which he can remove them with ease. We shall
now relate some of his observations.
“_1st Experiment._ The first experiment was made on a young and
vigorous horse, who had been treated for the glanders; it soon
appeared that he was not affected with it, and that it was merely
the caries of a tooth that had led to the belief of the existence
of the disease.
“On the 24th of June his left guttural ganglion was extirpated.
Soon after the operation, the eye of that side appeared to be
more sunk in its socket, the eyelids were swelled and the pupil
contracted.
“On the 28th of June the sub lingual ganglion appeared swollen,
hard and attached; a discharge of fetid, greyish matter was
discovered in the nostril of the same side.
“On the 29th of June, the wound suppurated copiously.
“From the 30th of June till the 16th of July the wound advanced
rapidly towards cicatrization.
“From the 18th of July to the 15th of August the animal continued
in the same state of health.
“On the 15th of August, the right guttural ganglion with a portion
of the nerve was removed; this operation was followed by the
same phenomena as the preceding, with this difference, that two
days after the animal could not swallow water, it run out at the
nostrils. There was in fact a communication between the nostrils
and mouth from the caries of the back molar tooth, the roots of
which were opposite the maxillary sinus, that had an opening into
the nostril; the voice was lost.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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