1868-1874] I X ill - 



a wish that if, during your profe ssional work, you were led Letter 

 to open the eyelids of a screaming child, you would specially 

 observe this point about the eye showing signs of becoming 

 gorged with blood, which interests me extremely. Could you 

 ask any one to observe this for me in an eye-dispensary or 

 hospital? But I now have to beg you kindly to consider 

 one other question at any time when you have half an hour's 

 leisure. 



When a man coughs violently from choking or retches 

 violently, even when he yawns, and when he laughs violently, 

 tears come into the eyes. Xow, in all these cases I observe- 

 that the orbicularis muscle is more or less spasmodically 

 contracted, as also in the crying of a child. So, again, 

 when the muscles of the abdomen contract violently in a 

 propelling manner, and the breath is, I think, always held, 

 as during the evacuation of a very costive man, and as 

 (I hear) with a woman during severe labour-pains, the 

 orbicularis contracts, and tears come into the eyes. Sir 

 J. E. Tennant states that tears roll down the cheeks of 

 elephants when screaming and trumpeting at first being 

 captured ; accordingly 1 went to the Zoological Gardens, 

 and the keeper made two elephants trumpet, and when 

 they did this violently the orbicularis was invariably plainly 

 contracted. Hence I am led to conclude that there must 

 be some relation between the contraction of this muscle 

 and the secretion of tears. Can you tell me what this 

 relation is ? Does the orbicularis preys against, and so 

 directly stimulate, the lachrymal gland? As a slight blow 

 on the eye causes, by reflex action, a copious effusion of 

 tears, can the slight spasmodic contraction of the orbicularis 

 act like a blow? This seems hardly possible. Does the 

 same nerve which runs to the orbicularis send off fibrils to 

 the lachrymal glands ; and if so, when the order goes for the 

 muscle to contract, is nervous force sent sympathetically at 

 the same time to the glands ? l 



I should be extremely much obliged if you [would] have 

 the kindness to give me your opinion on this point. 



1 See Expression of the Emotions, p. 169. 



