AUTHOR’S ABSTRACT OF THIS PAPER ISSUED 
BY THE BIBLIOGRAPHIC SERVICE, APRIL 19 
EXPERIMENTS ON THE TRANSPLANTATION 
OF LIMBS IN AMBLYSTOMA 
THE FORMATION OF NERVE PLEXUSES AND THE FUNCTION OF THE 
LIMBS 
S. R. DETWILER 
Osborn Zoological Laboratory and the Anatomical Laboratory, School of Medicine, 
Yale University 
TWENTY-TWO FIGURES 
INTRODUCTION 
The transplantation of limbs constitutes an experimental 
method which has been applied to the solution of a number of 
fundamental questions concerning the development of the pe- 
ripheral nervous system. Without doubt the most important 
applications of this method were made in connection with the 
question of the genesis of the nerve fiber in the work of Braus 
(04 and ’05), Banchi (’06), Gemelli (06), and Harrison (’07). 
Aside from their bearing upon the specific problem of the gen- 
esis of the nerve fiber, the transplantation experiments with the 
-exception of those of Banchi showed in general that if a limb 
bud is transplanted to an abnormal (heterotopic) position it 
will acquire a system of nerves which are connected with that 
part of the central nervous system of the host corresponding to 
the position occupied by the implanted limb rudiment. 
Although Braus (’05) claimed that aneurogenic limb buds 
(those taken from nerveless larvae) did not acquire nervous 
connection with the host, Harrison’s experiments showed that 
aneurogenic as well as euneurogenic limb buds (those taken from 
normal larvae) became supplied with peripheral nerves. That 
such nerves were partially functional was shown by slight volun- 
tary movements of the limbs as well as by movements in response 
to electrical stimulation. 
117 
