344 



Rev. Robert Main, M.A. 

 Gavin Milroy, M.D. 

 Rev. Walter Mitchell. 

 Ferdinand Mueller, M.D. 

 Robert William Mylne, Esq. 

 William Newmarch, Esq. 

 Andrew Noble, Capt. R.A. 

 Roundell Palmer, Esq., Q.C. 

 Edmund Alexander Parkes, M.D. 

 George Peacock, Esq. 

 John Thomas Quekett, Esq. 



Rev. Thomas Robinson, D.D. 

 Maxwell Simpson, Esq. 

 Edward Smith, M.D. 

 Sir James Emerson Tennent. 

 Henry Ward, Capt. R.E. 

 J. Forbes Watson, M.D. 

 C. Greville Williams, Esq. 

 Frederick Marow Eardley Wil- 



mot, Lieut. -Col. R.A. 

 Matthew Digby Wyatt, Esq. 



The following communications were read : 



1. "On the Electrical Phenomena which accompany Muscular 

 Contraction." By Professor C. MATTEUCCI. Commu- 

 nicated by Dr. SHARPEY, Sec. R.S. Received January 7, 

 1860. 



Dr. Radcliffe has recently communicated to the Royal Society 

 some observations on the nature of the electrical phenomena accom- 

 panying muscular contraction. It is known that M. du Bois-Rey- 

 mond admits that the muscular current diminishes during contrac- 

 tion, and that he attributes the phenomena indicated by the galva- 

 nometer to the momentary predominance of currents due to the 

 polarization of the electrodes of platinum over the muscular current. 

 In my last memoir on Electro-physiology, which was communicated 

 to the Royal Society and appeared in the Philosophical Transactions 

 for 1856, I proved that these phenomena take place independently 

 of the existence of secondary currents of the electrodes, and I hence 

 concluded, at least as regards the muscles of frogs, that during con- 

 traction there is a current, or rather an instantaneous electrical 

 discharge, which takes a contrary direction to that of the relaxed 

 gastrocnemius, and in general to that of the current which is found 

 on applying the extremities of the galvanometer to the extremities 

 of the limbs of a frog. 



In order to avoid the influence of secondary polarity, M. du Bois- 

 Reymond, and after him several other German physiologists, have 



