Boyal Microscopical Society. 161 



terminal networks of non-mediillated nerve fibres, is, except the 

 capillaries and the muscular coat of small arteries, neither in striped 

 muscles, nor in the cornea, nor in the skin, nor mucous membranes 

 of different kinds, due to the source which Beale asserts in the above- 

 mentioned paper,* although he has advanced this doctrine in many- 

 respects in a remarkable degree. 



On the other hand, further investigations show, that this doctrine 

 of terminal networks has been shaken in many respects. I wish to 

 call attention to the fact that in striped muscles the inter-muscular 

 network was not accepted as a termination, neither at the time of 

 Shaafhausen, nor of Beale, nor up to the present time; that is 

 proved by the great number of excellent researches on nerve termi- 

 nations in striped muscle in the most various classes of animals, by 

 Doyere, Meissner,',Wedl, "\Yalther, Munck, Kolliker, Eouget, Krause, 

 Engelmann, Kiihne, Cohnheim, &c., &c. By these observers 

 it has been shown, that the nerve fibres do not terminate as inter- 

 muscular, but that there exist also intra-muscular fibres, whose 

 exact mode of termination in various cases has not yet been fixed. 

 Of course if Beale, even at present, adheres to an inter-muscular ter- 

 mination, I am quite able to understand his inability to proceed 

 further, because by his method of preparation, only inter-muscular 

 nerves can be shown. 



A good fresh preparation of isolated muscular fibres, which Dr. 

 Beale does not appear to have ever examined, will show him that 

 even in the frog, not to mention the muscles of insects and reptiles, 

 there are intra-muscular nerves. 



In smooth muscular tissue it has been shown further, that it is 

 possible to trace fine non-medullated nerve fibres beyond this known 

 plexus.f 



As regards the nerves of common sensation, in the cornea sub- 

 stance, first of all, Kiihne % has shown that beyond the supposed 

 terminal network there are to be traced very fine nerve fibrils, 

 which are, according to Kiihne, in communication with the corneal 

 corpuscles. Then it has been shown by noyer,§ that from the 

 sub-epithelial network of fine non-medullated nerve fibres spring off 

 fine fibrils, which enter between the cells of the anterior epithelium. 

 Cohnheim, [1 Kolliker ,1[ and Engelmann** have extended this asser- 

 tion to a very remarkable extent. 



As regards the skin, it has been shown that beyond the plexus 



* ' Mon. Micr. Jour.,' January, 1872. 



t Klebs, I. c, Frankenh'auser, ' Die Nerven der Gebarm und ihre Endigung 

 in den glatten Muskelfasern,' 1867 ; Arnold, cap. iv. Strieker's ' Histologie.' 



J Kiihne, 'Gazette Hebdom.,' tome is., Paris, 1S62; und ' Untersuch., uber 

 das Protoplasma,' Leipzig, 1864. 



§ Floyer, ' Archiv lur Anatom. und Phisiolog.,' 1866. Heft II., p. 180. 



II Cohnheim, ' Centralblatt,' May, 1866; No. 26, Virehow's 'Archiv,' 38 Bd. 



^ Kolliker, ' Sitzungsber der phisik — medic. Gesellsch.' zu AVurzburg, Juni, 

 1866. 



** Engelmann, ' Die Homhaut des Auges.' Leipzig, 1867. 



