282 Journal of Comparative Neurology. 



our knowledge of the process of regeneration. This has some 

 practical importance. There are surgeons who maintain that 

 they observe a healing per primam of sutured nerves and a 

 rapid re-establishment of function absolutely inconceivable from 

 the point of view of the neurone-theory and especially of the 

 fiber theory. These 'observations ' are in serious collision withi 

 the results of the most careful experiments. 



Before we pass to the second problem, the interrelation of 

 the cells among one another, an interesting contribution of 

 Achille Monti^ deserves our attention on account of its funda- 

 mental importance as a possible method in the future. 



Embolisms were produced by injecting powdered carboiii 

 or lycopodium in the carotid of animals. In surviving animals, 

 killed about five days later, the Golgi method brought out smalll 

 foci of alterations in neuroglia and nerve cells. The most stri- 

 king result is that the dendrites suffer first — become varicose and 

 lose the gemmules ; the cell-body also becomes deformed and 

 last of all the axone is affected. We must, of course admit 

 that the method is that of silhouettes ; but it is sufficient to 

 show that in a cell near a focus only the dendrite directed 

 towards the focus, may degenerate and the others, with cell- 

 body and axone, remain quite intact. It is easy to see what a 

 vast series of important data can be obtained from such studies 

 when the right methods are developed. 



In this connection we may also mention an interesting- 

 phenomenon observed by Meyer in the case of facial paralysis 

 quoted above. The auditory nerve, being also involved on ac- 

 count of the hemorrhagic process in the internal auditory canal,, 

 showed at its termination a remarkable increase of neuroglia 

 cells. The terminations of the fibers had evidently suffered 

 more rapidly than the fibers and this decay had called for the 

 neuroglia reaction. Moreover it was evident that the cell-bodies 

 of the central 'auditory nucleus' were affvicted slightly, al- 

 though according to present theories, they were only in func- 



' Sulla anatomia patologica degli dementi nervosi nei processi da embo- 

 lismo cerebrale. Boll, della socieU medico-chirurgica di Pavia, 1S95. 



