288 



PRACTICAL PHYSIOLOGY. 



[LX. 



the intestines and tap them several times with the handle of a scalpel. The 

 heart ceases to beat lor a ti r ne, being arrested reflexly. The afferent nerve 

 is the sympathetic from t^e abdomen, and the efferent the vagus. The 



tapping succeeds more promptly if rhe intestines are slightly inflamed by 

 exposure to the air. 



(b.) It suffices to exert digital pressure over the abdomen to produce this 

 reflex arrest of the heart. 



