272 THE ADRENAL SYSTEM AND VASOMOTOR FUNCTIONS. 



sole efferent nerve of the submaxillary gland is therefore justi- 

 fied. Indeed, using his words: "Section of that nerve, either 

 where the fibers pass from the lingual nerve and the submax- 

 illary ganglion to the gland or where it runs in the same sheath 

 as the lingual, or in any part of its course from the main 

 facial trunk to the lingual, puts an end, as far as we know, 

 to the possibility of any flow being excited by stimuli applied 

 to the sensory nerves or to the sentient surfaces of the mouth 

 or of other parts of the body." Referring to the fibers of the 

 chorda tympani when this nerve reaches the gland, he says: 

 "The fibers may be traced into the gland for some distance, 

 but, as we have said, their ultimate ending has not yet been 

 definitely made out. 10 Along its whole course up to the gland, 

 the fibers of the chorda are very fine medullated fibers, but they 

 lose their medulla in the gland. The other set of nerve-fibers 

 reaches the gland along the small arteries of the gland/' 



If the annexed engraving, taken from Professor Foster's 

 work, is carefully examined, however, it will become apparent 

 that the circulation of the organ and the sympathetic fibers 

 are intimately associated. The arteries are terminal subdi- 

 visions of the carotid, while the veins are primary channels 

 that ultimately lead to the jugular: features which emphasize 

 their functional importance. Over these are entwined sym- 

 pathetic fibers from the superior cervical ganglion, which fibers 

 are inclosed in a common sheath with the main sensory nerve 

 present, the vagus: further evidence that they must, in a 

 measure, govern the quantity of blood distributed to the 

 organ. In fact, this association with the vagus, sufficiently 

 intimate "to form what appears to be a single trunk/' almost 

 imposes the deduction that the arterial branches of the latter 

 nerve transmit the impulse-waves that emanate from the cen- 

 ters upon which the "nervousness" of speakers, actors, etc., 

 depends as to the condition of "dry-mouth," or temporary 

 xerostomia, so frequently observed. Such an inosculation is 

 not due to mere hazard; it strongly suggests that the sympa- 

 thetic fibers form part of the mechanism through which the 

 intraglandular blood-pressure of the organ is governed: a fact 



10 All italics are our own. 



