22 THE TONER LECTURES. 



is but temporary, and is succeeded by a rise of temperature 

 which passes far beyond the normal point, so that the animal 

 dies in a state of intense fever. In my own experiments, the 

 cooling of the body after death has often taken place more 

 slowlj' than normal, but I have never seen that post-mortem rise 

 of temperature which has been noted Ity Naunj'u and Quincke, 

 and by other observers, but which appears to be only an occa- 

 sional phenomena absent in the majority of cases. According 

 to my oAvn experience (and the testimony of other investigators 

 is in accord with it), if the external temperature be much below 

 that of the body of the animal, no amount of wrappings will 

 suffice to bring about the febrile reaction ; and if an animal in 

 which tlie fever has already come on be exposed to external 

 cold, the temperature falls. The time that elapses between the 

 division of the cord and the rise of temperature varies from a 

 few minutes to many hours, and is dependent upon the external 

 conditions. If the animal be in a heated room, breathing 

 heated air, the period of fall is a very short one. In none of 

 my own trials, however, and in none of those reported by other 

 observers, so far as I am aware, has the fall of temperature 

 been altogether absent. In the experiments of Xaun^-n and 

 Quincke, although the animal was put at once into a warm chest 

 where the temperature was between 80° and 90° F., yet it was 

 always several hours before the normal temperature was reached. 

 The question here naturally arises, is the subsequent rise of 

 temperature really due to the division of the cord, or is it due 

 simply to the external heat to which the animal is exposed ? 

 An experiment completely crucial as to this point was per- 

 formed by Naunyn and Quincke. They first placed the unin- 

 jured animal in the warm box, and when after some hours no 

 rise of its bodily temperature had occurred, divided the cord 

 and replaced the animal in the warm chest, when intense fever 

 came on in a very short time. Again these observers opened 

 the spinal canal so as to completely expose the cord without 



