REPORT ON THE PHYSIOLOGY OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 69 



been removed, great general agitation became apparent. The 

 pigeon which was the subject of operation retained, as at first, 

 the senses of sight and hearing, but was capable of executing 

 only irregular unconnected muscular efforts. It lost by degrees 

 the power of flying, of walking, and even of standing. Removal 

 of the whole cerebellum was followed by the entire disappear- 

 ance of motive power. The animal, if laid upon its back, tried 

 in vain to turn round ; it perceived and was apprehensive of 

 blows, with which it was menaced, heard sounds, seemed aware 

 of danger, and made attempts to escape, though ineffectually, 

 — in short, while it preserved, uninjured, sensation and the ex- 

 ercise of volition, it had lost all power of rendering its muscles 

 obedient to the will. The cerebellum is hence supposed by 

 Flourens to be invested with the office of " balancing, regu- 

 lating or combining separate sets of muscles and limbs, so as 

 to bring about those complex movements depending on simul- 

 taneous and conspiring efforts of many muscles, which are ne- 

 cessary to the difterent kinds of progressive motion." Bouil- 

 laud, who has successfully disputed several of the opinions of 

 Flourens respecting the functions of the cerebi'um, fully concurs 

 with him as to those of the cerebellum. 



Yet, it must be admitted, that there exists also conflicting 

 experimental testimony on this subject. M. Fodera* states 

 that he has found the removal of a part of the cerebellum to 

 be followed, in all cases, either by motion backwards, or by 

 that position of the body which precedes retrograde movement. 

 The head is thrown back, the hind legs separated, and the 

 fore legs extended forwards, and pressed firmly against the 

 ground. More complete destruction of the cerebellum occa- 

 sions the animal to fall on its side ; but the head is still inclined 

 rigidly backwards, and the anterior extremities agitated with 

 convulsive movements, tending to cause retrograde motion of 

 the body. Injuries of one side of the cerebellum were observed 

 to produce paralysis of the same side of the body ; as might, 

 indeed, have been anticipated from the direct course, without 

 decussation, of the i*estiform columns which ascend to form the 

 cerebellum. Magendie has described f precisely the same re- 

 sults. A duck, whose cerebellum had been destroyed, could 

 swim only backwards. In the course of his experimental lec- 

 tures, Magendie, having removed the cerebellum in several rab- 

 bits, demonstrated to his class the phenomena of retrograde 

 movement, exactly as they have been recorded by Fodera. It 

 is, then, impossible to regard the conclusions of Flourens as 



* Journal cle Physique, July 1823. t Ibid. torn. iii. p. 157. 



