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must intend to imply that the 

 inhibitory action of the vagus 

 is a danger in chloroform 

 administration when atropine 

 is not used, or that the 

 normal action of a healthy 

 nerve is a danger to life." 

 This is in my opinion a 

 most fallacious argument. 

 An animal inhaling concen- 

 trated chloroform vapour is 

 not in a normal condition ; 

 and because in normal life 

 the gentle inhibitory action 

 of the vagus does no harm, 

 it does not at all follow that 

 a great amount of the same 

 inhibition set up by the 

 action of chloroform may not 

 be dangerous. Although I 

 consider that this argument 

 is fallacious I do not go so 

 far as the Glasgow Commis- 

 sion did in believing that 

 vagus inhibition is really a 

 danger in chloroform admin- 

 istration. When such inhibi- 

 tion occurs, if the chloroform 

 merely be continued, the 

 reflex is soon deadened and 

 then the heart is released. 

 In my limited experience a 

 dog under the influence of 

 atropine is decidedly harder 

 to kill with chloroform than 

 one not so conditioned, what- 

 ever be the theory as to how 

 the atropine acts. If, how- 

 ever, chloroform be pushed 

 persistently in an atropinized 

 dog the pressure falls steadily, 

 the pulse remains fast, and 

 after some minutes — 5^ 



