HISTORY OF GALVANISM. 51 



In the year 1803, Aldini, professor of natural 



philosophy at Bologna, published his Treatise meats. 

 on Galvanism, a work which contains many 

 curious experiments, and also some new theore- 

 tical opinions. The experiments which were the Contrac- 



-. i , j , i . . , i tions in the 



most calculated to produce an impression upon the human 



spectators, were performed on the body of a cri- 

 minal, who was hanged at Newgate, and also on 

 the head and limbs of some of the larger warm- 

 blooded animals. A powerful battery being ap- 

 plied, very strong contractions were excited, the 

 limbs were violently agitated, the eyes opened and 

 shut, the mouth and jaws worked about, and the 

 whole face was thrown into frightful convulsions. 

 These experiments, however, were principally re- 

 markable from the subjects made use of, and the 

 magnitude of the effect : there were others per- 

 formed, really more curious, in which very consi- 

 derable muscular contractions were excited, with- contrac- 

 out the intervention of any metal, or other sub- diSwu'h 

 stance which could be supposed capable of disen- outmetals - 

 gaging the electric fluid. In some cases the effect 

 was produced by bringing into contact the nerve 

 of one animal with the muscle of another, and at 

 other times by employing the nerves and muscles 

 of the same animal. In some of the experiments, 

 there appears to have been the most powerful con- 

 tractions excited, by bringing the parts of a warm 

 and a cold blooded animal into contact with each 

 other. It does not appear, from any expressions 

 in this treatise, whether Aldini considered the 



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