withstanding his opinion on the cause of the ar- 

 terial contraction, has been proved to be incor- 

 rect. BICHAT'S idea, on the contrary, that the 

 pulse did not consist in a dilatation of the arteries, 

 but only in a locomotion, occasioned by their nu- 

 merous inflections, when the heart presses the 

 blood, cannot but be incorrect, since it is contrary 

 to the laws of hydrostatics. 



As chemical analysis has sufficiently proved 

 that the fibrous membrane of the arteries is not a 

 muscle, and, consequently, cannot exhibit a spon- 

 taneous contraction; and, as we clearly perceive * 

 from its elasticity, that it must be dilated during 

 the systole of the heart, and resume its original size 

 during the diastole; it follows, that the quickness 

 of the pulse in the same individual, can never vary 

 in different parts of the body. All other dispari- 

 ties, except this, may be possible. 



Several medical authors have related cases, 

 where this unequal velocity is said to have been 

 observed; but we must consider these observa- 

 tions as mistakes, after we have seen the impos- 

 sibility of the existence of such cases. A deci- 

 sion of this long-contested question is of the 

 greatest consequence to the Medical Science* 



