334 WALTER E. DANDY 



The combination of g;Iandular or hormone activity and the 

 results of mechanical stimuli (presumably of nervous origin) has 

 suggested the possibility of a neuro-hypophyseal sugar center. 



The rational interpretation of this and other physiological data 

 has been handicapped by the uncertainty and meager evidence 

 of the regulatory autonomic nervous mechanism. Accordingly 

 at the suggestion of Dr. Gushing under whose direction the ex- 

 perimental hypophyseal investigations have been conducted, the 

 determination of the source and distribution of the nerve supply 

 was undertaken. 



Lying as does the hypophysis in such close proximity to the 

 carotid arteries with their abundant superimposed plexus of sym- 

 pathetic nerve fibers, it is but natural to assume that this is the 

 source of the hypophyseal nerve supply. Indeed evidence of 

 this is found in the infrequent passing reference to a nerve fila- 

 ment which could be traced from this plexus to the hypophysis. 



EARLY REFERENCE TO THE NERVE SUPPLY 



Probably the earliest reference to a hypophyseal nerve supply 

 is the casual mention by Bourgery ('45) that he observed sym- 

 pathetic nerve fibers passing to the pituitary body. Further 

 substantiation is subsequently given in similar casual mention 

 by Fontona, Cloquet, Bock, Ribbes, (9) and possibly others. 



In his Anatomie des Menschen ('79) Henle (9) devotes a para- 

 graph to the hypophyseal nerve supply and supplements this 

 description by a drawing of the carotid sympathetic system, 

 which includes a cluster of two or three twigs running from each 

 plexus to the pituitary body. This is the most extensive descrip- 

 tion of the hypophyseal nerve supply extant. He casts doubt 

 upon the previous discovery of nerve fibers to this gland and 

 concludes that on account of the inherent difficulties they have 

 mistaken fibrous filaments of connective tissue for nerve fila- 

 ments, saying, ''Ohne Zweifel beruhen diese und manche altere 

 Angaben auf Verwechselung fibroser Balkchen mit Nervenfasern, 

 doch zeigte mir das Mikroskop in dem Netzfoniiigen zwischen 

 Carotis und Hypophyse ausgespannten Gewebe feine Nerven- 



