40 



served, that the animal, though respiration wa* 

 complete, died within a short time for want of 

 oxidation. If an artery was opened, and the 

 nerve afterwards divided on one side, the blood, 

 which issued from the artery, assumed for a few 

 moments a darker colour, but was again reddened* 

 If the nerve was divided on both sides, the blood 

 which flowed from the artery became venous, and 

 the animal died, the fine epidermis on the inte^ 

 rior side of the nose and mouth becoming black- 

 ened. Again, if instead of this, he only com- 

 pressed the nerves, the arterial blood became 

 dark, and continued in that state as long as the 

 compression lasted, but assumed again a crimson 

 colour as soon as the compression ceased. These 

 experiments prove, in a decided manner, the in- 

 fluence of the nerves upon the change of the 

 blood in the lungs, if they were but correctly per- 

 formed and related. In the mean time, it is well 

 known that BAGLIVI and BICHAT have made 

 similar experiments, and drawn from them quite 

 different results. Besides this, one of DUPUY- 

 TREN'S countrymen, DUCROTAY DE BLAIN- 

 VH,LE, has repeated his experiments, and found 

 that the animal indeed, dies sometime after the 

 eighth pair of the nerves have been divided, but 

 Jfrom quite another cause than the cessation, of 



