SEC. III.] CONSENSUS OF NERVES IN THE GANGLIA. 435 



perceive, for the first argument of Whytt is founded on this, 

 that every nerve-fibril is a canal continued from its commence- 

 ment to its termination without any connection with another ; 

 but since this supposition is nothing more than an improbable 

 conjecture, to which anatomy is opposed, for the pulp of the 

 nerves is found to be rather granular than tubular, we cannot 

 allow it to have any demonstrative force. The second argument, 

 which alleges that there are nerves which are consentient 

 in their functions, but have no anastomoses in their whole 

 course, proves, indeed, that these nerves communicate only in 

 the sensorium commune^ but does not prove that the anastomoses 

 of other nerves do not contribute to their necessary inter- 

 communication. As to the third argument, that there should 

 be many sympathies displayed by those nerves which have 

 many anastomoses, and yet are these not displayed, we would 

 answer in the words of Tissot himself,^ that we are not as yet 

 informed as to all the sympathies and consensus of nerves, 

 and therefore there may be many which have hitherto escaped 

 the diligence of observers. From which, therefore, I think we 

 may conclude, that although the principal and greatest consensus 

 of the nerves takes place in the sensorium commune, it is not 

 possible to deny some share in connecting and combining the 

 functions of the nerves to their anastomosing and communicating 

 branches. 



SECTION III. DOES CONSENSUS OF THE NERVES ALSO TAKE PLACE 



IN THE GANGLIA? 



The functions of the ganglia of the nerves have also been 

 hitherto involved in much obscurity; so that, after the labours 

 of such great men to determine their nature and use, scarcely a 

 spark of the light necessary to elucidate that mystery of nature has 

 appeared. The celebrated Tissot^ has so learnedly and elegantly 

 treated of this matter, as well as of the consensus of the nerves, 

 that I think it altogether superfluous to consider the structure 

 and functions of the ganglia in complete detail. Having 

 weighed all the opinions that have been advanced regarding the 

 functions of the ganglia, he esteems that which Johnston has 

 propounded as the most probable, namely, that the ganglia ren- 



• Instit. Neurolog., § 6, No. 5. 



' Iten Bandes 2ter Theils, Eilfter Artikel. 



