Currents of Nervous Energy in Skin Cells 33 



out from the nucleus and quite independent of the form 

 and extent of the conductor which carries it. 



But it is very probable that this nervous current or 

 discharge which is conducted from the nucleated cell 

 along the protoplasmic filaments to the anucleated frag- 

 ment of the contiguous cell, also passes across into the 

 fragment even when it contains a nucleus and so also 

 when it is replaced by an entire cell. This leads us to 

 the conception that wherever intercellular protoplasmic 

 connections are present, the various nuclear currents or 

 discharges stream through these connections and so 

 permit a general nervous flux throughout the whole net- 

 work of these protoplasmic bridges, in the meshes of 

 which the nuclei themselves would constitute the nodal 

 points. In this way one would have a continuous 

 circulation or distribution of nervous energy throughout 

 the entire organism. 



This supposition is supported by the experiments of 

 Siegfried Garten. On his own arm he cut out a little 

 disc of skin one centimeter in diameter so as to lay bare 

 the muscle fibers. Without suturing the wound he 

 covered it with an aseptic dressing and left it to the 

 process of granulation. After the wound was completely 

 covered with epithelium except only a small circle of 

 1.75 mm. radius he cut out the whole piece again and 

 enough around it to reach to the area in which the 

 skin was in quite normal condition. 



Microscopic observation gave the following result: 

 Studying it from the center of the wound out, one met 

 first of all a greater or less number of wedge shaped 

 epithelial cells with the long axes radially disposed. 

 Surrounding this came next an annular zone, 0.45 mm. 

 broad, of fusiform epithelial cells whose long axes were 



