Eighth Pair of Nei-ves. ' 61 



both of which circumstances pretty certainly evince that di- 

 gestion did not go on after the division of the nerves. Let, 

 however, this point be settled as it may, the experiment by 

 Mr. Field, in which he ascertained, after death, that the proper 

 nerves were divided, must be regarded as quite fatal to Mr. 

 Broughton's inference. For, in this case, the animal lived sixty 

 hours after the division of the nerves, and yet not the slightest 

 degree of digestion took place during that time. This one fact 

 carries with it a conviction which appears perfectly irresistible ; 

 for, if the result of this experiment were fairly contradicted, 

 there would be an end to the consistency of nature's laws. And 

 yet Mr. B. does not express any surprise that the experiments 

 which he relates should contradict each other ; nor does it once 

 seem to strike him, that he may have been deceived in his judg- 

 ment of what he considers proofs of digestion after the division 

 of the nerves. 



The affection of the respiratory organs was, in all my experi- 

 ments, manifest, from the moment of the division of the nerves, 

 although the degree of dyspnoea varied considerably. Where 

 the animals were allowed to die I was invariably convinced of the 

 truth of Le Gallois' position, that the immediate cause of death, 

 from the division of the eighth pair of nerves, is referable to 

 the disorder of the respiratory functions ; and he appears to have 

 demonstrated satisfactorily, that the circulation ceases, from 

 the opening of the glottis being diminished ; from the lungs 

 being congested, and from the bronchia becoming clogged 

 by extravasated fluids. 



The remarks with which Mr. B. concludes his paper are in- 

 tended to explain the symptoms which follow the division of the 

 eighth pair of nerves. He considers that Mr. Brodie has put this 

 in a very clear light, in his Lectures at the College of Surgeons ; 

 by observing, that the lungs are endowed with sensation through 

 the influence of the par vagum ; and that, being deprived of sen- 

 sation from the division of the nerves, on the sides of the neck, 

 they gradually cease to act, and the muscles of respiration in 

 vain strive to effect the proper circulation of air. The conse- 

 quences must be apparent, the blood is prevented from imbibing 



