124 THE PHYSIOLOGY OF MUSCLE AND NERVE. 



evidence to show that the physiological integrity of the axis cylinder 

 depends upon its connection with its corresponding nerve cell. This 

 view dates from the interesting work of Waller,* who showed that 

 if a nerve be severed the peripheral stump, containing the axis cyl- 

 inders that are cut off from the cells, will degenerate in a few days. 

 The process of degeneration brought about in this way is known 

 as secondary or Wallerian degeneration. The central stump, on 

 the contrary, remains intact, except for a short region immediately 

 contiguous to the wound, for a relatively long period, extending 

 perhaps over years. Waller, therefore, spoke of the nerve cells as 

 forming the nutritive centers for the nerve fibers, and this belief 

 is generally accepted. In what way the cell regulates the nutrition 

 of the nerve fiber throughout its whole length is unknown. Some of 

 the cells in the lumbar spinal cord, for instance, give rise to fibers of 

 the sciatic nerve which may extend as far as the foot, and yet 

 throughout their whole length the nutritive processes in these fibers 

 are dependent on influences of an unknown kind, emanating from 

 the nerve cells to which they are joined. These influences may 

 consist simply in the effect of constant activity; that is, in the 

 conduction of nerve impulses, or there may be some kind of an 

 actual transferal of material. This latter idea is. supported by the 

 interesting fact, which we owe to Meyer, that tetanus and diph- 

 theria toxins may be transmitted to the central nervous system 

 by way of the axis cylinders of the nerve fibers. By means of his 

 method Waller investigated the location of the nutritive centers 

 for the motor and sensory fibers of the spinal nerves. If an anterior 

 root is cut the peripheral ends of the motor fibers degenerate 

 throughout the length of the nerve, while the fibers in the stump 

 attached to the cord remain intact; hence the nutritive centers 

 for the motor fibers must lie in the cord itself. Subsequent histo- 

 logical work has corroborated this conclusion and shown that the 

 motor fibers of the spinal nerves take their origin from nerve cells 

 lying in the anterior horn of gray matter in the cord, the so-called 

 motor or anterior root cells. If the posterior root is cut between 

 the ganglion and the cord, the stump attached to the cord degener- 

 ates; that attached to the ganglion remains intact, and there is no 

 degeneration in the nerve peripheral to the ganglion (Fig. 55) . If, 

 however, this root is severed peripherally to the ganglion degenera- 

 tion takes place only in the spinal nerve beyond the ganglion. The 

 nutritive center, therefore, for the sensory fibers must lie in the pos- 

 terior root ganglion, and not in the cord. This conclusion has also 

 been abundantly corroborated by histological work. It is known 

 that the sensory fibers arise from the nerve cells in these ganglia. 



* Waller, "Miiller's Archiv," 1852, p. 392; and "Comptes rendus de 

 1'Acad. de la Science," vol. xxxiv., 1852. 



