Reprinted from Review of Neurology and Psychiatry, January 1905. 



A CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF SECONDARY 

 DESCENDING DEGENERATION IN THE POSTERIOR 

 COLUMNS OF THE SPINAL CORD. 



By W. PAGE MAY, M.D., D.Sc., F.R.C.P., 



Fellow and Lecturer of University College, London. 



From the Physiological Laboratory of University College, London. 



SINCE Ttirck in 1851 first traced degenerated nerve fibres from 

 the brain into the spinal cord, an enormous amount of work has 

 been done on that organ which has enlarged our knowledge of 

 its structure and functions. In this country, Bastian, Terrier, 

 Gowers, Horsley, Hughliugs Jackson, Mott, Sherrington, Schafer 

 and others have devoted a large amount of valuable time and 

 thought to this subject ; whilst abroad, Erb, Edinger, van 

 Gehuchten, Cajal, Obersteiner, Charcot, De'jerine, Pierre Marie, 

 Retzius and a number of others have also given with success a 

 great deal of valuable time to the same purpose. With the 

 advent of fresh discoveries, it has been shown that the nervous 

 system is inconceivably complex, and that systems, tracts, or 

 nerves which formerly seemed simple units, have been analysed 

 into more elaborate details, whilst new structures with neces- 

 sarily diverse functions have been found as constituent parts of, 

 or in association with, what was formerly thought to be some 

 simple organ. Amongst many instances that could be cited this 

 applies with especial force to the view formerly held of the 

 structure of the posterior columns of the spinal cord which, at 



