THE SYMPATHETIC SYSTEM 255 



intercostal nerve or trisplanchnic nerve. This means 

 that the general anatomical conception of this system 

 has not changed for the last two centuries. I will even say 

 that, as the details became better known, the general 

 conception became more confused. 



For instance, if we read the book of Jacques Benigne 

 Winslow (1723) on "The Anatomical Exposition of the 

 Human Body," we see that he describes, not one, but three 

 sympathetic nerves : The greater sympathetic, the only 

 one which is now found in modern text books, the middle 

 sympathetic, or vagus, and the small sympathetic or the 

 lodern facial nerve. 



We must remember that the "theory of the sympa- 



tetics," which was very popular at that time, made these 

 nerves the anatomical elements necessary to the propaga- 

 tion of expressions, and allied conditions. If we look up 

 many examples of the "sympathetic" that they 

 jive, we are struck by the fact that these "sympathetic 

 Functions" belong nearly all to organic life as we under- 

 stand them now. These old anatomists were therefore 



irfectly correct to include, as Winslow did, the vagus 

 among the sympathetic nerves. They were perfectly 

 right to mention the facial nerve which to a certain 

 extent belongs to this system, as well as many other 

 nerves which they did not suspect. 



YYinslow, following Petit, and about the same time 

 Johnstone, as well as Lucas, had oriented the problem of 

 the morphological and physiological significance of this 

 system in an entirely different direction, in "that they 

 considered this system independent, from a physiological 

 point of view, of the central nervous system. With 

 the masterfulness of a genius, Xavier Bichat started the 

 bases of our present knowledge in his two chief works: 

 "General Anatomy"; "Researches on Life and Death." 



