581 



decussation between the posterior halves of the medulla, on the one 

 hand ; and on the other, between each of these and the olivary body 

 of the opposite side. 



The memoir contains the details of other observations on the 

 medulla of man and the lower animals. 



XXVII. " On the Early Stages of Inflammation." By JOSEPH 

 LISTER, Esq., F.R.C.S. Eng. and Edin., Assistant Surgeon 

 to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Communicated by 

 Dr. SHARPEY, Sec. R.S. Received June 18, 1857. 



(Abstract.) 



In this communication the author gives an account of an investiga- 

 tion with which he has been recently occupied, into the process of 

 inflammation in the Frog's foot. The paper is divided into four 

 sections, with an introduction and conclusion. 



In the introduction it is observed, that " so far from our know- 

 ledge of inflammation being in a satisfactory condition, authorities 

 are at variance upon the fundamental question whether it is to be re- 

 garded, in accordance with John Hunter's opinion, as active in its 

 nature, and consisting in an exaltation of the functions of the affected 

 part, or whether it should not rather be considered a passive result 



of diminished functional activity In seeking for the solution of this 



great problem, we cannot expect to gain much from the contempla- 

 tion of the more advanced stages of inflammation It is upon the 



first deviations from health that the essential character of the morbid 

 state will be most unequivocally stamped, and it is therefore to the 

 early stages of inflammation that our attention must be chiefly di- 

 rected." 



Some cases are then mentioned to show that " in the early stages 

 of inflammation in the human subject, whether induced by mechani- 

 cal irritation or by an acrid application such as mustard, or of spon- 

 taneous origin, the minute vessels become abnormally loaded with red 

 blood, the corpuscles of which ultimately become to a greater or less 

 extent arrested prior to the occurrence of effusion." It is afterwards 

 shown, from numerous facts, that " conclusions arrived at from the 



