442 NERVOUS SYSTEM. 



developed independently of the cerebro-spinal centres. In 

 the admirable work of Brachet, on the ganglionic system, 

 numerous cases of anencephalic * monsters are detailed, taken 

 from Morgagni, Wepfer, Ruisch, Littre, Lallemand, Boux, 

 Fauvel, Mery, Saviard, Bouhaud, Schellhase, Heyshan, 

 Bayle, Lordat, Sain t-Hila ire, and others, in which the mus- 

 cular system was found more or less perfectly developed. 

 In some of these, the foetus was delivered at term and lived 

 for several hours. In the case reported by Bayle, the child 

 was born with two teeth and lived for seven days. Heyshan 

 reported a case that lived for six days. When we consider 

 the great number of cases of this kind on record, a few of 

 which only are cited by Brachet, it is evident that the cere- 

 bro-spinal centres are not absolutely necessary to develop- 

 ment in utero. Some of the cases reported presented spas- 

 modic movements of certain muscles. 2 



While it is certain that a foetus may become developed 

 in iitero, when there is reason to suppose that the cerebro- 

 spinal influence is wanting and the chief nervous operations 

 are effected through the ganglionic system, direct experi- 

 ments upon the sympathetic in animals do not positively 

 show any influence upon nutrition, except as this system 

 of nerves affects the supply of blood to the parts. When we 

 divide a sympathetic nerve, there is an apparent exaggera- 

 tion of the nutritive processes in. particular parts, and there 

 may be inflammatory phenomena, but atrophy of muscles is 

 not observed. Indeed, we only have atrophy of muscles 

 following division of cerebro-spinal nerves, or, as recently- 



1 The term anencephalic is here used in the sense in which it was employed 

 by Saint-Hilaire, as signifying absence of the encephalon and spinal cord, or 

 the entire cerebro-spinal axis. It is sometimes applied to cases of absence of 

 the encephalon, which are more commonly called acephalous. 



2 BRACKET, Recherches experimentales sur lesfoncliom du system e nerveux yan- 

 glionaire, Bruxelles, 1834, p. 103, et seq. 



At the time the work of Brachet was written, it presented an admirable 

 account of the physiology of the sympathetic system ; but it antedates the posi- 

 tive facts ascertained by Bernard, Brown-Sequard, and other writers, to whom 

 we have made frequent reference. 



