THE SYSTEMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM 37 



organism. Thus rheumatic invasion may occur in some 

 cases of the disease, generally or locally, along the sudori- 

 ferous channels from the outer world in a very brief period 

 of time, after which, when zymosis of the cerebro-spinal 

 lymph has been more or less completely effected, the 

 phenomena of local or general neuro-muscular involvement, 

 joint affection, and visceral disease begin to evolve them- 

 selves, as the materies morbi spreads along the lines of 

 least resistance into the physiologically sound areas of 

 texture and organ. The peculiar liability of the heart to 

 the incidence of rheumatic affection thus becomes at once 

 apparent, when we consider that the principal source of its 

 innervation is the pneumogastric nerve, a nerve anatomi- 

 cally well, indeed ideally, suited to receive and convey 

 the toxic agent from the cerebro-spinal cavity, or incubat- 

 ing chamber, to its muscular, epithelial, and endothelial 

 terminally connected textures, the common and syn- 

 chronous presence of certain bacterial organisms in the 

 central nervous system and the organs and textures inner- 

 vated by it, generally and locally, thus receiving an easy, 

 as well as a scientific, explanation. 



The phenomena of metastasis, which are peculiarly 

 liable to be experienced in rheumatism, are also explicable 

 by the forward or backward movements of the microbe- 

 laden cerebro-spinal lymph, as they are determined by 

 intrinsic and extrinsic local or general systemic influences, 

 acting by physiological hydrostatics and dynamics along 

 the most patent available inter-spaces and vasculatures. 

 Thus a regurgitative movement of infected cerebro-spinal 

 fluid may take place from a part or the whole of the 

 voluntary musculature into the cerebro-spinal cavity, when 

 the central nervous system may be so profoundly nar- 

 cotised as soon to be affected by unconsciousness and 

 coma, or it may happen, in non-fatal cases, where the 

 sensory nervine outlets are available for the work of 

 excretion of the toxic lymph, that a clearance of the dis- 

 eased area is effected by profuse diaphoresis, it may be, 

 aided by artificial neutralisation of the prevailing toxis, 

 and timely assistance to the narcotised and failing 

 nervature. 



Myopathy is a nervine affection of what may be called 



