342 WALTER E. DANDY 



optic nerve ; these branches were from the nerves in the adventitia 

 of the anterior cerebral artery. There is thus afforded a direct 

 nervous autonomic path between the optic and oculomotor nerves 

 and between these and the sympathetic trunk. 



SUMMARY 



The ner\e supply to the pituitary body is from the carotid 

 plexus of the sympathetic system. Numerous branches radiate 

 to the stalk along the hypophyseal vessels and are immediately 

 lost to view in the substance of the anterior lobe. 



The posterior lobe nerve supply is very scant, in marked con- 

 trast to the extensive innervation of the anterior lobe. 



The pars intermedia receives its nerves from the stalk. 



There is connection between the carotid sympathetic system 

 and the oculomotor and optic nerves. 



The absolute differentiation between secretory and vasomotor 

 nerves is of course a matter of much dispute and is impossible. 

 The impression, however, from the character and course of the 

 nerve fibers their greatly increased number in the region of the 

 hypophysis, and their disappearance at a distance from the hy- 

 pophysis, the dififerences between the supply of the anterior and 

 posterior lobes, the connections established with the other cra- 

 nial nerves, leads us to regard them as secretory, in contradis- 

 tinction to vasomotor, the existence of which in the cranial 

 chamber has not been observed. 



It is a pleasure to express my gratitude to Dr. Harvey Cushing 

 for his suggestions during the progress of this problem. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



(1) Paulesco, N. C. 1908 L'hypophyse du cerveau. Paris, Vigot Freres. 



(2) Herring, P. T. 1908 The histological appearance of the mammalian pitu- 



itary body. Quart. Jour. Exper. Physiol., 1, 121-159. 



(3) Howell, W. H. 1898 The physiological effects of extracts of hypophysis 



cerebri and infundibular body. Jour. Exper. Med., 3, 245-258. 



(4) Reford, L. L. and Gushing, H. 1909 Is the pituitary gland essential to 



the maintenance of life? Johns Hopkins Hospital Bull., 20, 105-107. 



(5) GoETSCH, E., Gushing, H. and Jacobson, G. 1911 Garbohydrate toler- 



ance and the posterior lobe of the hypophysis cerebri. Johns Hopkins 

 Hospital Bull., 22, 165-190. 



