No. 3-] PERIPHERAL NERVES. 633 



where union was obtained, the dog lived only twenty-four days, 

 and there was no evidence of regeneration. 



This operation was first tried on the human subject in 1878. 

 At this time Albert reported the case of a servant from whom 

 he had removed a sarcoma, about as large as a hazel nut, from 

 the median and with it so much of the nerve that the resected 

 ends were 3 ctm. apart. Before closing the wound, he im- 

 planted a segment of a nerve taken from an amputated foot, 

 and sutured the same to the ends of the median. The case 

 was observed for ten days, at the end of which time the wound 

 had healed. No further history is given. 



To Gluck must be given the credit of again trying implanta- 

 tion of nerves experimentally (apparently without knowledge of 

 any earlier experiments of this nature), and of drawing atten- 

 tion in a number of published articles to the feasibility of this 

 procedure as a legitimate operation in surgical practice. 



We are told by Tschirschwitz that Gliick, while investigating 

 regeneration of divided nerves, was led to cut a peripheral 

 nerve at two places, and found that, after suturing, regenera- 

 tion was complete. He next resected a nerve and united the 

 peripheral end of the resected segment to the central nerve 

 stump and vice versa ; in these experiments the results were 

 also successful. A fowl and rabbit were then chloroformed, 

 and 3 ctm. removed from the sciatic of the fowl, and 3^^ ctm. 

 exsected from the same nerve of the rabbit, transplanted, and 

 sutured above and below with silk sutures. On the eleventh 

 day after the operation, the wound, having healed by first inten- 

 tion, was again opened. The union was found to be "ideal"; 

 only by its slight wavy appearance, and by the position of the 

 sutures could the transplanted segment be localized. After 

 isolating the nerve, it was pinched with forceps above the 

 implanted segment and violent muscular movements ensued. 

 The sciatic was then divided above the transplanted piece, and 

 the peripheral end stimulated with the same result. In all, 

 eighteen experiments were made, in some of which the results 

 were equally favorable, in others not so satisfactory. 



Gliick states, " that a mixed (sensory and motor) implanted 

 nerve unites by first intention, not only when the nerve is 



