Meyer, Data of Modem Neurology. 265 



discussion as being convinced of Flemming's view, especially 

 by Lugaro's sections, just to be mentioned) deny its fibrillary 

 structure, but it seems that Flemming's view is very emphatic- 

 ally substantiated by the Italian investigators Levi and especi- 

 ally Lugaro.^ The studies of the latter are very important for us. 

 He found that a progressive stain with Delafield's hematoxy- 

 lin brought out plain fibrils in the non-stained substance all 

 through the cell ; further that certain intoxications which lead 

 to a reduction of the stainable substance bring out very clearly 

 these concentric bundles of fibrils ; and finally that the reaction 

 of the cell to injuries of the processes follows this rule : 



As a consequence of a lesion of the peripJieral branch of 

 their neurite the spinal ganglion cells undergo a process 

 of alteration which may lead even to the death and to the dis- 

 appearance of the element ; whereas they preserve their nor- 

 mal structure when the central branch is cut off. The process of 

 change in consequence of section of the peripheral branch is 

 identical in character with the one described for the motor cells 

 (see Lugaro's Fig. 7). This furnishes the explanation for the 

 puzzHng fact that in locomotor ataxia but few alterations or 

 none are found in the cells in the spinal ganglia ; further it is 

 of importance for the formulation of the laws of trophism of the 

 nerve-cells generally. 



This would be the place to pass in review the important 

 results of investigations of Hodge and others on changes in fa- 

 tigue and intoxications, but this lies outside of our present task. 

 We shall mention them in the general pathology. 



Apart from the study of ordinary degeneration of the pe- 

 ripheral fibers and the coarse central branches and also of the 

 histology of peripheral and central terminations of the afferent 

 neurone in the normal, little is known outside of the pictures 

 obtained by the Golgi method. The best is undoubtedly 

 what we know from Monakow's studies of the primary optic 



' Sulle alttrazioni delle cellule nervose dei gangli spinali in seguito al taglio 

 della branca periferica o centrale del loro prolungamento. Ricerche del dott. 

 E. Lugaro, assistante. Rivista di Patologia nervosa e mentale, Vol. I, p. 457- 

 470. 



