i'4-2 M. Matteucci's Researches on Electro-Physiology. 



I have already shown in my former researches, and by 

 direct experiments, the great difference between the nervous 

 and the muscular substance as regards the conduction of the 

 electric current. Regarding these experiments, which it would 

 be impossible for me to describe here in detail, I shall confine 

 myself to the account of one, the evidence afforded by which 

 is perfect, and which may be applied to the case in point. This 

 experiment consists in introducing the nerve of a very sensitive 

 galvanoscopic frog into the interior of a muscular mass, cut 

 with a knife in the direction of its fibres. On passing a tole- 

 rably strong electric current through the muscular mass, con- 

 tractions are never excited in the prepared frog. In this case, 

 besides the better conductibility of the muscular substances, 

 we have for the production of the effect observed the great 

 difference between the relative mass of the muscle and of the 

 nerve. It is unnecessary to state, that the contraction of the 

 prepared frog occurs if the poles of the battery are closely 

 approximated to its nerve, or if the muscular mass, by its con- 

 tractions, produces the phsenomenon called induced contrac- 

 tion. The experiment succeeds perfectly on taking the 

 muscles of one of the mammalia or a bird, after their irrita- 

 bility has ceased ; so that the passage of an electric current 

 through these muscles does not excite any sensible contraction. 



It is then proved by experiment, that when a muscular mass 

 is traversed by an electric current, the nervous filaments dif- 

 fused through the mass do not produce any sensible part of 

 this current, so that the effects obtained can only be due to 

 the direct action of the electric current upon the muscular 

 fibre, and to the indirect action or the injluence oi ihe electric 

 current upon the nervous force. 



The following are these effects : — If, in a living rabbit, dog 

 or frog, we expose the muscles of the legs, by entirely re- 

 moving the integuments, and pass an electric current from a 

 pile oF thirty or forty elements through these muscles, apply- 

 ing one of the poles to the upper and the other to the lower 

 part of the leg — if the positive pole is placed above and 

 the negative pole below, so that the electric current traverses 

 the muscular substance in the direction of the ramification of 

 the nerves, a very powerful contraction is produced, not only 

 in the muscles of the leg, but also in those of the foot. If the 

 current is passed in the contrary direction, the animal cries 

 out from pain, the contraction is much less, and only occurs 

 in that muscle which is traversed by the current. 



On repeating these experiments many times and upon dif- 

 ferent animals, which I have taken care to do, we readily 

 discriminate the principal results which I have described 



