PHENOMENA OF MUSCLE. 245 



electrode was placed on the middle of the muscle, the other on its 

 attachment to the pelvis. After breaking- the descending- current the 

 positive polarisation current was measured. The upper end of the 

 muscle was destroyed by means of a heated glass rod, with which 

 it was touched in the region of its natural section. After the 

 muscle was thus destroyed I replaced the upper electrode on the 

 same spot. On heating the muscle it thickened, and now the 

 current no longer flowed into the living muscular substance through 

 the short tendon, but through the dead portion. Thus the 

 density of the current was now less at its point of entry into the 

 living portion of muscle than it had been previously. On this 

 account, in the experiment with the uninjured muscle, I placed on 

 both sides of the tendon, in the groove between the muscle substance 

 and the bone, a piece of blotting-paper folded four times and steeped 

 in normal salt solution. By this means the density of the current 

 was decreased at its point of entry into the muscle substance. 

 A current from 4 Daniells was now sent through the muscle for 

 5 sees, in a descending direction, with the result, to quote a par- 

 ticular instance, of positive polarisation to the extent of 1 39 degrees 

 of the scale *. After this the upper electrode was removed, the end 

 of the muscle was destroyed, and the electrode again replaced. The 

 strong descending demarcation-current of the muscle now flowed 

 into the galvanometer-circuit. As soon as the muscle had cooled 

 and its current had become constant, this was compensated, and the 

 same current as before was again sent through for 5 sees, in a 

 descending direction : there was now negative polarisation to 

 the amount of 13 scale. 



I also made similar experiments with the current led in from the 

 side. Let it be imagined that the two electrodes are placed on one 

 of the wide surfaces of the muscle at moderate distances from the 

 ends, that one galvanometer electrode is directly opposite the upper 

 stimulating electrode, the second in the middle of the muscle. 

 With this arrangement I obtained, for example, with a descending 

 current of 8 Daniells closed for 5 sees, after the first stimulation, a 

 positive polarisation current amounting to 300 scale; after the 

 third, a similar one still amounting to 239 8C . 



Hereupon the upper stimulating electrode and the upper galva- 

 nometer electrode were removed, the spots of muscle on which they 

 had rested were destroyed on either side with a heated glass rod, then 



1 Two excitations with the ascending current had preceded this, hence positive 

 polarisation was already diminished. 



