260 ENDOCRINE GLANDS 



a very similar disposition, the description will be more 

 general for each region. 



"This way of looking at the nerves by demarking the 

 great difference between the great nervous systems, pre- 

 sent these systems as they really are in nature. 



"What anatomist has not been struck by the difference 

 to be found between the nerves of one or the other. Those 

 of the brain are larger, less numerous, whiter, more dense in 

 their tissue, less liable to changes. In opposition to 

 this those of the ganglia are very loose, numerous, particu- 

 larly around the various plexuses, gray in color, soft and 

 varying in appearance, except those communicating with 

 the cranial nerves and those uniting together these small 

 nerve centres. 



"It is evident after these considerations that there does 

 not exist a greater sympathetic nerve, and what is described 

 under that name is really a number of small nervous 

 systems, functioning isolately, but having communi- 

 cating branches with each other." 



These are the essential facts of the theory of Bichat on 

 the system of the ganglia and their application on the 

 nerve mechanism of vegetative life. If I have insisted so 

 much on these theories, and if I have quoted so extensively 

 his original writings, it is that I. believe that to-day, as 

 well as a century ago, these paragraphs, taken from 

 Bichat's masterpiece are still valuable knowledge. To- 

 day as in the past, his conception of the greater sympa- 

 thetic, barring out a few details, is still what \ve consider 

 nowadays to be the truth. Certainly details have to be 

 corrected, in particular the independence of the two 

 systems, animal and vegetative, and we must give back 

 to the cerebro spinal system a certain amount of control 

 over vegetative life. Certainly we have to add consider- 

 ably to reach our modern conception, but these additions 



