1889-] NEW- YORK MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. 27 



In support of his hypothesis, Dr. Kinnear makes use sub- 

 stantially of the following facts : Grief causes the tears to flow, 

 the muscles of the face to contort, and induces rapid failure of 

 muscular strength. Mental excitement acts Qn the secretions of 

 the kidneys. Nausea and vomiting are often caused by a dis- 

 gusting sight or smell. Joy and anger flush the face. Sneezing 

 is an effort of Nature to throw off^ the foreign body from the 

 mucous membrane of the nose, Szc. 



These are reflex acts giving rise to hyperactivity and hyper- 

 secretion. He reasons from this-, that abnormal nerve-force, 

 due to disease of the central cells, will give rise to abnormal 

 effects on the system ; /. e., disease of the central ganglion, con- 

 nected with the nerves supplying the mucous membrane of the 

 nose and throat, causing what he calls abnormal nervous force, 

 produces abnormal secretions from these parts. At the same 

 time he declares Hay-Fever paroxysms to be reflex acts. Which 

 is very true ; thus showing the fallacy of his theory, that the 

 disease originates in the central nerve-cells. Now a reflex act 

 is due to the stimulation and irritation of a sensory nerve, over 

 which the impulse travels ; the central cells acting only to 

 receive this impulse, and transmit it to the motor nerves. By 

 this it will be seen, that a reflex act cannot take place, unless 

 the impulse be first carried along a sensory nerve to the cell. 

 And therefore Dr. Kinnear's assumption, that a diseased con- 

 dition of the cells originates the reflex act, and its subsequent 

 phenomena, seems to me to be false. In fact, he must deny the 

 existence of all the well-known etiological factors, when he 

 assumes that the disease is of central nervous origin. 



After a careful study of this affection, and believing it to be 

 a disease of the nervous system, I have arrived at the following 

 conclusions, which seem at least to be based on physiological, 

 pathological and common-sense principles. Hay-Fever is a 

 periodic. Neurotic disease, occurring in persons having a 

 peculiar idiosyncrasy, or constitutional diathesis, and character- 

 ized by a hypersecretion of the nasal and pharyngeal mucous 

 membranes. The paroxysms are reflex acts, due to an irritation 

 of the terminal fibres of the nerves, supplying the nasal and 

 pharyngeal mucous membranes. The impulse is carried along 

 the sensory nerves to the central cells in the medulla, which, on 

 receiving the impulse, transmits it to the vaso-motor system, 



