A CONTRIBUTION ON THE MINUTE ANATOMY 

 OF THE SYMPATHETIC GANGLIA OF THE DIF- 

 FERENT CLASSES OF VERTEBRATES. 



G. CARL HUBER. 



Introduction. 



Even a cursory review of our knowledge of the minute anat- 

 omy of any tissue or organ teaches us that the various steps in 

 the perfection of our knowledge are in a large measure synchro- 

 nous with advances made in microscopical technic. This is, 

 perhaps, to no one more clearly shown than to him engaged 

 in neurological work. The introduction of solutions of osmic 

 acid and gold chloride, the Weigert's haematoxylin method, the 

 methods of Golgi and Ehrlich, and the numerous other special 

 methods, have, each in its turn, directed the attention of investi- 

 gators to results hitherto unattained. This is especially true 

 of the chrome silver and the methylene blue method; the results 

 obtainable by these two methods, variously modified (embracing, 

 as they do, a large portion of our more exact knowledge of the 

 shape of neurons, and especially of their relation to each other 

 and to the myriads of cells under their influence), have led 

 many workers to devote much of their time to the investigation of 

 various portions of the central and peripheral nervous system 

 of vertebrates, and to some extent, also, of the still larger group 

 of invertebrates. Of this number many, no doubt, encour- 

 aged by the earlier results of Kolliker and Ehrlich, have used 

 these methods for the investigation of the sympathetic or gan- 

 glionic nervous system. And it is gratifying to reflect that the 

 researches of Kolliker, Ehrlich, Aronson, Arnstein, Smirnow, 

 Cajal, Van Gehuchten, V. Lenhossek, Sala, Retzius, d'Erchia, 

 Dogiel, and others have very much broadened our knowledge con- 

 cerning this system, many points having been observed so often 

 that they are beginning to be accepted as demonstrated facts. 



27 



