ELECTRO-CHEMICAL PHENOMENA 359 



resistance of the conductor coupled with the elec- 

 trostatic capacity. As a result of measurements on 

 the phrenic nerves of cats and calculations based on 

 data of microscopic sections of nerves, we have been 

 able to construct an artificial 'nerve' of glass, paper, 

 tinfoil and graphite, whose total resistance and capac- 

 ity are of the same order of magnitude as those of the 

 cat's nerve. On applying the break E. M. F. of an 

 induction coil to this artificial nerve and leading off 

 to a string galvanometer in the usual manner we have 

 obtained typical diphasic curves almost identical with 

 those obtained from cat nerves stimulated with the 

 same current. Of greater significance is the fact that 

 we have been able to predict a change in the form of 

 the curves with change in the nature of the applied 

 E. M. F. and to predetermine the character of the 

 change. As an example we may mention that the 

 action current of nerves stimulated by the make or 

 break of a constant current is of totally different form, 

 when registered as a curve, from the diphasic curves 

 obtained by applying a momentary E. M. F. 



"It seems at present altogether probable that the 

 phenomena of electrotonus, the effects of lowering 

 of temperature, anesthetics and other well-known 

 phenomena of nerve will be found on investigation 

 to be compatible with the theory that nervous phenom- 

 ena are essentially electrical in nature." 



One of the oldest established facts in physiology is 

 the electric variation in muscle and nerve action. The 

 question has always been : Is this electric phenomenon 

 a result or a cause of action? The work of Crehore 

 and Williams, however, apparently proves that it is 



