THE STEUCTUEE OF THE SPINAL COED OF THE OSTEICH. 



BY 



GEORGE L. STREETER, M. D. 



Assistant in Anatomy, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. 



From the Dr. Senckenberg Anatomie, Frankfort-on-Main. 



With 6 Text Figures. 



It is related by Herodian how the Kaiser Commodiis beheaded ostriches 

 and then watched them with delight and wonder as they continued run- 

 ning about the amphitheater, apparently to no great extent inconven- 

 ienced by the loss of their heads. That which served Kaiser Commodus 

 as barbarous amusement frames itself for us into an interesting anatomi- 

 cal problem, and calls to mind a similar phenomenon so often observed 

 among the domestic fowls. What is, then, this arrangement of the nerv- 

 ous elements of the spinal cord of a bird that enables it to functionate 

 so completely after separation from the higher centers? 



Our present knowledge and methods do not suffice for a complete ex- 

 planation of this problem, but we can lead the way toward a future solu- 

 tion if we study out what can be learned at present concerning the his- 

 tolog)^ of the bird spinal cord. In this sense, under the suggestion and 

 guidance of Professor Edinger, I have undertaken the investigation of 

 the structure of the spinal cord of the ostrich (Struthio camelus). This, 

 beyond all other birds, distinguishes itself by the great length of its spinal 

 cord, and, in comparison with the brain, its great size. 



In the literature, frequent reference is made to the spinal cord 

 of birds. As early as 1868 Stieda* presents what could be seen in 

 unstained preparations. He gives a review of the previous literature 

 reaching back to Steno, 1667, and Perrault, 1699. All of the older inves- 

 tigators of the spinal cord, such as Stilling and Clarice, have also studied 

 more or less that of the bird, but it is the above mentioned work of 

 Stieda that gave us first a clear and complete description. Of the more 

 recent anatomists, mention is to be made of the works of Gadotv ' and 

 Eolliker." A number of investigations have been made which were limi- 



* Stieda, Studien iiber das centrale Nervensystem der Vogel und Saugethiere. 

 ' Gadow, Bronn's Klassen und Ordnungen des Thierreiches. Bd. 6, p. 406. 

 = Kolliker, Gewebelehre, 1896. 



American Journal of Anatomy. — Vol. III. 

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