HISTORY OF GALVANISM. 



doctrine of Galvani, that the animal body has 

 any share in the production of the electricity ; 

 this is thought to be entirely owing to the action 

 of the two metals upon each other; by this action 

 a small quantity of the fluid is liberated, which, 

 by passing through the nerve, causes the muscular 

 fibres connected with it to contract. Thi; action 

 of the metals upon each other is described as one 

 by which their electrical equilibrium is destroyed ; 

 and by establishing a communication between 

 them, their equilibrium is restored. This destruc- 

 tion of equilibrium he speaks of as a new law of 

 electricity discovered by himself; and the animal 



is supposed to have no further concern in it, than 

 as being a peculiarly sensible electrometer, and 

 affording a very delicate test of the presence of 

 this disengaged electricity in its passage from one 

 metal to the other.* 



pa- Dr. Wells wrote an interesting paper on galvan- 

 ism, which was also published in the Philosophical 

 Transactions of London. He proposed three dis- 

 tinct objects of inquiry, which, at the time when 

 he wrote, embraced the points that were the most 

 general subjects of discussion. He first inquires, 

 whether the influence discovered by Galvani de- 

 pends upon any property inherent in the animal 

 body, or peculiar to it : in the second place, he 

 inquires into the conditions that are necessary for 

 its excitement : and, lastly, he examines how far 



* Phil. Trans, for 1793, p. 20, et alibi. 



