HISTORY OF GALVANISM. 49 



the oxidation of the two extremities.* It does not, 

 however, appear that these experiments of Ritter 

 have been confirmed by any subsequent observa- 

 tions. 



In the experiments that had been performed 

 on animals, those with cold blood were gene- 

 rally employed, both on account of their being 

 more' convenient for the operation, and from the 

 greater tenacity with which they retain their 

 vitality. It was, however, ascertained, that ani- 

 mals with warm blood were equally susceptible of 

 the influence; and Creve, of Wurtzburg, pro- 

 duced strong contractions in a human leg after am- 

 putation. Vassali-Eandi, in conjunction with his By Vassal*, 

 friends Giulio and Rossi, performed a more ample 

 set of experiments upon the bodies of some cri- 

 minals that were beheaded at Turin. f They paid 

 particular attention to the effect of the galvanic 

 electricity upon the heart and the other involun- 

 tary muscles, a point which had been the subject 

 of much controversy. Volta supposed that the 

 involuntary muscles could not be made to contract ; 

 Fowler however asserts, that contractions were 

 excited in the heart, although with difficulty : 

 Vassali confirmed the observations of Fowler, 

 and extended them to the stomach and intestines ; 

 the same opinion was also maintained by Nysten,f 

 who afterwards published an elaborate treatise on 



* Journ. de Phys. Iv. 235. f Ibid. Iv. 286. 

 Ibid. Iv. 465. 



