NERVOUS ACTION. 3D3 



cular contraction, cries of pain are frequently elicited, which 

 Bernard considers due to what he styles a recurrent sensi- 

 bility in the nerve. Brown-Se'quard, however, and Chau- 

 veau, the able teacher of anatomy and physiology in the 

 Lyons Veterinary College, who have carefully investigated 

 the subject, deny the truth of Bernard's theory, and attri- 

 bute the pain to the violent muscular contraction alone. 



It is worthy of note, that if a nerve is subjected to a 

 serious injury, it often loses for a time all power of perform- 

 ing its accustomed functions. Of this kind is the condition 

 of shock which supervenes on serious accidents, and in 

 which the patient may remain for hours quite unconscious 

 of any painful sensation. 



Chemically considered, nervous-tissue is composed of 

 water, albumen, fatty matters, and salts. No perfectly satis- 

 factory relative analysis of the white and grey nervous 

 matter has been made. The best is the following, by 

 Lassaigne : 



Grey. White. 



Water,. . . . 85-2 73-0 



Albuminous matter, . 7*5 



Colourless fat, . . TO 

 Eedfat, ... 37 

 Osmazome and lactates, 14 



Phosphates, . . . 1*2 



100-0 100-0 



Fremy states that the fatty matters consist of cerebric 

 acid, which is most abundant, oleic, margaric, and oleo- 

 phosphoric acids, and of cholesterine. He remarks, further, 

 that in the brain the fatty matters are confined to the 

 white substance, and that the latter loses its colour when 



