REGENERATION OF THE NERVOUS TISSUE. 61 



The fact of the speedy and complete reunion of divided 

 nerves has been taken advantage of by physiologists in 

 experiments upon nerves of different functions. Many years 

 ago, Flourens divided two mixed nerves, the trunks of which 

 were near each other, and crossed them, connecting the central 

 end of the one with the peripheral end of the other, and vice 

 versa. Reunion of the extremities thus attached took place, 

 and the functions of the paralyzed parts were restored. The 

 communication through both nerves was restored and corre- 

 sponded to the artificial crossing of the nerves. In these 

 experiments there was complete reunion of the extremities 

 of different nerves possessing the same general properties. 

 Flourens then attempted to produce, in the same way, an 

 anatomical and physiological reunion between the divided 

 extremities of nerves of different properties, as the pneumo- 

 gastric and the fifth cervical. At the end of three months 

 the anatomical reunion was found complete ; but on dividing 

 the other pneumogastric, to ascertain if the function of the 

 first had been restored, the animal manifested the symptoms 

 that follow division of both pneumogastrics, and died in two 

 days. 1 These experiments have lately been repeated and 

 extended by Gluge and Thiernesse, 8 Philipeaux and Yul- 

 pian, 3 and others, with more definite results. Gluge and 

 Thiernesse, Schiff, 4 and Landry 6 failed to observe restoration 



1 FLOURENS, Recherches experimentales sur les proprietes et les functions du 

 gysteme nerveux, Paris, 1842, p. 266, et seg. 



2 GLUGE ET THIERNESSE, JSur la reunion des fibres nerveuses sensibles avec les 

 fibres matrices. Journal de la physiologic, Paris, 1859, tome ii., p. 686, et seq. 



3 PHILIPEAUX ET VULPIAN, Note sur des experiences demontrant que des nerfs 

 separes des centres nerveux peuvent, apres s^etre alteres completement, se regenerer 

 tout en demeurant isolts de ces centres, et recouvrer leurs proprietis physiologiques. 

 Journal de la physiologie, Paris, 1860, tome Hi., p. 214 ; Recherches experimen- 

 talessur la reunion bout d boutde nerfs defonctions different^. Ibid., 1863, tome 

 vi., p. 421, et seq., and p. 474, et seq. 



4 SCHIFF, Remarques sur les experiences de MM. Philipeaux el Vulpian sur la 

 regeneration des nerfs. Journal de la physiologic, Paris, 1860, tome iii., p. 217. 



5 LANDRY, Reflexions sur les experiences de MM. Philipeaux et Vulpian, rela- 

 tives d la regeneration des nerfs. Ibid., p. 218. 



