10 MINOT ON THE TONGUE 



fibres of ■wliicli are longitudinal and attached anteriorly to tlie hyoid. None of the 

 ntrinsic muscles have been, so far as I am aware, previously described, and the elon- 

 gation of the tongue itself has not been hitherto taken into account. 



My own observations upon the nerves which supply the tongue are fragmentary and 

 unsatisfactory, as I have unfortunately been unable to obtain sufficient material for dissec- 

 tion. I therefore reproduce the figure, cut 2, and description given by Bendz, the Danish ^ 

 original being inaccessible to many readers. Bendz's account refers exclusively to the 

 common snake, Tropidonotus natrix, of Europe. 



"The united nervus glossopharyngeus and vagus arise by three or four small roots from 

 the sides of the medulla, and pass out together through a special opening of the skull. 

 After it appears outside (of the craniiun) it receives a small anastomising branch from the 

 nervus communicans ; a little below, it gives off a considerable branch, the largest part 



part of which is equivalent to the n. laryngeus supe- 

 rior, of the higher animals, but is perhaps at the same 

 time the analogue of 7i. glossojiharyngeas, although I 

 have been unable to discover a ganglion, comparable to 

 the g. p)etrosiim. This branch runs, like all nerves in 

 this region, because of the variability of the organs in 

 volume and position, in manifold ciirves down over the 



Cut 2. Head of Tropidonotus natrix Ji nat. liji j- , n it , ^ ti i 



size, after Bendz. 1, cerebellum; 2, medulla; ncck to the autcrior jjart oi the tracheac, and along the 



4, anastomosis with N. communicans; 5, . -, r> i • i •, j ji i ii- xr •; t 



N. communicans; 6, N. lanngeus superior et SlCleS Ot WlllCn it TUnS tO tfie glOttlS. Here it SCUdS a Small 



glossopharyngeus: 7, G.anjjlion radicisvagi; , ii xu'l ^Jl,iiii_r-i to 



9, vagus; 21, inT.ogiossus,-23, its front branch, Drauch along the sides ot, and back to the front end of 



—24, its hind branch. The 'branch from which i.i i-iji -i-i i t • 



23 springs receives a branch from N. alveola- tlie traCnea, WhllC the main Stem IS lost UpOU the glottlS 



is iutcrioris. 



and the mucous membrane. Close below the origin of this 

 branch arises the stem of the vagus, with its Ganglion radicis a little above, which gives 

 off a tolerably thick branch to the hyjwglossus, which last descending from above crosses 

 the vagus at this point. The trunk of the vagus runs backward between the arteria 

 carotis, and the vena jugidaris," etc., p. 130-131. 



" The hypoglossal nerve arises by two roots from the anterior columns of the 

 medidla oblongata. These unite outside the cranium, to form a single trunk, which 

 immediately crosses the vagus trunk, from which it receives a considerable branch. 

 Past this it descends and divides at the side of the trachea into two nearly equal 

 branches, an anterior and posterior. The anterior branch lies in many curves upon the 

 sides of the ti^achea, gives ofl' a fine branch to the muse, genioglossus, and receives 

 a branch which comes from the ?t. alveolaris inferior; this last comes out near the middle 

 of the inner surface of the ramus of the lower jaw, and runs backwards and inwards over 

 the muscles of the regio suhmentalis, before making the above-mentioned anastomosis. 

 The oontinuation of the anterior branch enters, and can be followed even to the 

 tips. The posterior branch goes to the muse, ceratoglossus, most of the branch pressing 

 into the muscle, and following its axis backward ; while a smaller branch passes backward 

 upon the same muscle superficially." p. 132. 



1 1 must beg indulgence for this translation, which I have certainly unfavorable ; I had however, no other resource. 

 made with the assistance of a dictionary, and without pre- Dr. H. Hagen had the kindness to explain a difficult pas- 

 vious knowledge of the language, circumstances that are sage to me. 



