WORK UPON VISCERAL AND ALLIED NERVES. 51 



firms the fact that vagus stimulation increases the peristaltic 

 contractions more especially after previous section of the 

 two splanchnics. That the splanchnic contained inhibitory 

 fibres he considered was to be deduced from the marked 

 increase in peristaltic activity consequent upon their section. 

 Langley and Dickinson ^ obtained marked increase of 

 peristaltic movements on stimulation of the vagus, an in- 

 crease which was quickly inhibited by stimulation of the 

 splanchnic. Pal and Berggriin^ showed that the effect of 

 the vagus could be very largely increased if before stimula- 

 tion the cord be cut in the neck or a transverse section of 

 the brain be made at the pulvinar or anterior third of the 

 optic thalamus, and concluded that inhibitory fibres passed 

 through the parts cut. Pal ^ showed that many of the 

 irregular results obtained in experiments upon the muscular 

 movements of the intestines were due to their exposure to 

 the air. He observed the movements through the abdo- 

 minal wall after this had been shaved, and found that on 

 stopping artificial respiration in curarised dogs or rabbits 

 these movements were greatly increased, an increase which 

 was not abolished by section of both vagi, though the con- 

 tractions could be made much more vigorous by stimulation 

 of either vagus. On opening the abdomen the movements 

 quickly ceased, and a second stimulation of the vagus pro- 

 duced either no effect or only a weak contraction. More- 

 over on now stopping artificial respiration the peristalsis 

 which was so marked when the abdomen was intact no 

 longer occurred. He also adduces experiments'^ to show 

 that in addition to the ordinary splanchnic centre there is 

 another placed lower down in the cord which inhibits 

 peristalsis. His statement is general, not limited to the 

 lower part of the small intestine or to the large intestine. 

 Jacobi^ examined the movements of the intestine in 

 animals in which the intestines were exposed under warm 



'^ Proc. Roy. Soc, vol. xlvi., p. 423, 1889. 



^ Wien med. Jahrb., p. 434, 1888. 



^ Arb. a. d. Inst. f. alg. u. exper. Path. Wien, p. 31, 1890. 



* Wiener. Klin. Wochenschr., pp. 199, 521, 1895. 



'•" Arch. f. exp. Path. u. Pharm., vol. xxix., p. 171, 1892. 



