THE SYMPATHETIC AND OTHER RELATED 

 SYSTEMS OF NERVES. 



By J. N. Langley. 



Contents. 1 — General Account op the Sympathetic Nervous System, p. 617 — 

 Sympathetic Nervous Supply of the Head, p. 617— Of the Skin, except that of 

 the Head and of the Ano-Genital Region, p. 625— Of the External Generative 

 Organs and of the Skin of the Ano-Genital Eegion, p. 635— White and Grey 

 Rami ; Some General Features of the Sympathetic Nerve Supply to the Skin, 

 p. 637— Of the Skeletal Muscles, p. 639— Of the Thoracic and Abdominal 

 Viscera, p. 642 — Nerve Fibres of the Sympathetic System, p. 648— Degenera- 

 tion of Nerve Fibres, p. 652— Regeneration, p. 652— Structure of Sympathetic 

 Nerve Cells, p. 655 — Duration of Effects caused by Section of Nerves, p. 655 — 

 Efferent Pre-Ganglionic Fibres in relation to the Anterior and Posterior Roots 

 of the Spinal Nerves, p. 658— Nervous Systems related to the Sympathetic 

 Nervous System, p. 659 — Distribution and Action of Cranial Autonomic 

 Nerve Fibres, p. 660 — Distribution and Action of Sacral Autonomic Nerve 

 Fibres, p. 666— The Enteric Nervous System, p. 668— Possible Autonomic 

 Fibres running direct in the Cerebro-Spinal Nerves, p. 668 — Local Nerve 

 Centres other than the Cranial, Sympathetic, and Sacral Ganglia, p. 671 — 

 Questions common to the Sympathetic and to Some Other Part op the 

 Autonomic System, p. 672 — Mode of Action of Inhibitory Fibres, p. 672 — 

 Automatism of Peripheral Ganglia, p. 676— The Peripheral Ganglia as Centres 

 for Definite Areas, p. 678 — Reflex Action from Autonomic Ganglia, p. 678 — 

 The Number of Nerve Cells on the course of a Pre-Ganglionic Fibre ; Com- 

 missural Fibres, p. 682— The Size of Nerve Fibres as a Characteristic of the 

 Autonomic System, p. 685 — Afferent Autonomic Nerve Fibres ; Referred 

 Pain in "Visceral Disease, p. 686— Growth of Pre-Ganglionic Cranial Fibres 

 into Sympathetic Ganglia, p. 691— General Comparison of the Cranial, Sacral, 

 and Sympathetic. Autonomic Systems, p. 692. 



In this account I propose to treat in somewhat general terms of the 

 course of the sympathetic nerve fibres from the spinal cord to the peri- 

 pheral ganglia, of the distribution and nature of the fibres given off by 

 the ganglia, and to compare broadly the sympathetic fibres with similar 

 fibres given off by the cranial and by the sacral nerves. Since sym- 

 pathetic fibres run to all, or nearly all, parts of the body, the sections 

 of this text-book which treat of the several organs and tissues have 

 already given some historical account of many of the facts relating to 

 the connections and functions of the sympathetic fibres; and in con- 

 sequence, in bringing the facts together, as is done in the following 

 pages, it will, in many cases, be unnecessary to enter into detail either 

 as to the facts themselves or as to the original authorities. 



The relation of the sympathetic to the central nervous system, the 

 relation of its several ganglia to one another, and the function of its 

 ganglia, have been subjects of controversy from the beginning of the 



1 A brief account of the papers relating to the sympathetic system which have appeared 

 since August 1898, the date of the completion of this article, save for verbal corrections, 

 is given in an Appendix, p. 695. 



