AUTHOR’S ABSTRACT OF THIS PAPER ISSUED 
BY THE BIBLIOGRAPHIC SERVICE, NOVEMBER 28 
EXPERIMENTAL DEGENERATION OF THE VAGUS 
NERVE AND ITS RELATION TO THE NERVE TERMI- 
NATIONS IN THE LUNG OF THE RABBIT! 
O. LARSELL AND M. L. MASON 
FIVE FIGURES 
In a recent article one of the authors (Larsell, ’21) has demon- 
strated histologically the presence of nerve terminations in the 
lung of the rabbit and their distribution in relation to the various 
parts of the bronchial tree and of the pulmonary blood-vessels. 
An adaptation of the methylene-blue technique was employed 
which, with the normal lung, gave results that appeared suffi- 
ciently constant to warrant an attempt to repeat the method 
on experimental animals. The hope was entertained that it 
might be possible to determine the elements which belong to the 
vagus nerve as shown by their disappearance by degeneration, 
following section of the vagus nerve in the neck region. 
As in the previous work, rabbits were utilized. The vagus 
was sectioned in the midcervical region and the cut ends were 
allowed to retract. Ether anaesthesia was used during the 
operation, and aseptic precautions were observed. ‘Twelve 
animals were operated upon, but only four lived for the period 
of twenty-eight days which was deemed necessary for complete 
degeneration of the severed fibers. 
It is worthy of remark that in these four rabbits the left 
vagus had been sectioned, while in the animals which died, 
apparently more or less as a result of the operation, either the 
right vagus or both right and left nerves had been cut. All of 
these animals died within seven days after the vagotomy, and 
were not utilized. Except that two showed tuberculous lesions 
1 Contribution from the Zoological Laboratory, Wm. A. Locy, Director, and 
from the Anatomical Laboratory of Northwestern University. 
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