TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS, 105 
the nervous system, by which the action of the heart is arrested. The 
primary impression is considered by some to be made upon the semi- 
lunar ganglion, but the evidence adduced, Dr. Holland thinks, is wholly 
inconclusive. In the absence of satisfactory proof there is great reason 
_ to institute a more rigid and cautious examination ; and for this purpose 
_ the author first attempts to determine the sources of nervous energy to 
which the heart is indebted, as well as the various degrees of depend- 
- ence on each. After applying these data to the various forms in which 
the notion of the influence of the blow on the semilunar ganglion is 
developed by different writers, the author proposes his own views on 
_ the subject. 
“ In entering upon the inquiry, the first step was to determine the 
important organs peculiarly liable, from their situation and functions, to 
be deranged by a blow on the stomach. These were the aorta and 
the vena cava ascendens, which, from their situation, and the ample 
space they occupy immediately where the spine becomes prominent 
_ after quitting the chest, solicit a careful examination. The pit of the 
stomach is unquestionably the situation where these large and important 
vessels are alone liable to severe functional derangement from a blow: 
above this point they are securely protected by the parietes of the 
chest, and below it by the mass of the abdominal viscera. A know- 
_ ledge of the mode in which one of these vessels is liable to be influ- 
enced, will explain the cause of death. A blow in this situation has 
_ necessarily a tendency, whether it strike the artery or vein, to urge the 
circulating fluid towards the heart. Nature, by means of the semilu- 
nar valves, has prevented the frequent occurrence of such an accident, 
but the violence of the blow is quite sufficient to overcome the obstacle 
or barrier to the retrograde motion of the blood. The fatal result, is 
perhaps to be referred to the sudden propulsion of arterial blood into 
_ the left ventricle, and not to the greater force with which the venous 
blood may possibly be returned to its destination. Death would not 
_ be likely to occur from the latter circumstance, as the blood would 
_ be transmitted in its ordinary direction. The arterial blood, on the 
contrary, is driven in a retrograde course with considerable violence 
into the left ventricle.” 
The correctness of this explanation of the cause of death is discussed 
at length by the author, and compared with phenomena accompanying 
a blow in the region of the carotid artery. The plan of treatment, he 
observes, is obviously pointed out, viz. “ to rouse the action of the heart, 
and this is perhaps best accomplished by artificial inflation, which by 
_ improving the qualities of the blood, gives it the power of stimulating 
the cavities of the left side of the heart. Galvanism, or electricity also, 
applied to the region of this organ, is well calculated to excite its con- 
 tractions, and if only fully called into play, the obstacles previously 
existing would probably be removed, and the heart might gradually 
but slowly resume its important functions. Friction with stimulating 
embrocations along the spine and over the whole of the anterior part 
of the chest must not be neglected if recovery appear doubtful. The 
application of warmth to the feet, or their immersion in hot water, may 
