Anatomy. — ''On the Neruus Terminal^ from man to Am- 

 p/iio.i'us." By Prof. J. W. van Wijhe. ') 



(Communicated in the meeting of April 26, 1918). 



Altlioiigli hcirdlj credible, it, is a fact that a good three years ago 

 — ill 1914 — a new nerve, arising independently in the brain, 

 was discovered in man. This is the Nervns Terminalis. Naturally 

 it is not visible to the naked eye, but can be seen through the mag- 

 nifying glass, especially through the dissecting microscope, with the 

 aid of which its discoverer, the American Brookover found it. 

 (Journ. of Comp. Neurology. Vol. 24.) 



It has its course through the pia mater, parallel and mesial to the 

 olfactory bulb and tract, running over the middle of the gyrus 

 rectus (vide (ig. 1.) Wiien a rectangular piece of the pia mater 

 in this region is taken up and placed under the microscope, the 

 fine fibres of this nerve can be seen. Here and there the fibres 

 are retracted from eacii other to come together again later on. 



The nerve is independent of the olfactory tract and bulb, and in 

 the opinion of Brookover enters the brain at the mesial root of the 

 tract. A number of ganglionic cells, Brookover taxes their number at 

 about 50, lie spread in the nerve in its course along the olfactory 

 tract. 



The nerve can be followed not only along the tract but also some- 

 what further distally along the olfactoi-y bulb, but in this vicinity it 

 is embedded in the dura mater, while it has here also partially 

 pierced the former and lies on the lamina cribrosa. 



In the vicinity of the bulb the number of its ganglionic cells is 

 considerably larger than is the case along the tract. It was estimated 

 by Brookover at about 100 to 200 cells. Undoubtedly its branches 

 pass through the mesial row of openings in the lamina cribrosa to 

 the mucous membrane of the nasal septum, but the research did not 

 extend as far as this. 



In adult man the course of the new nerve is as yet known in 

 the brain-case only, not on its outside. ") 



1) Lecture delivered before the meeting of the Neth. Zoological Society, Jan. 26, 

 1918. 



*) Vide, liowever, the postscript at the end of this article. 



