THE LAWS OF ORGANIC 



kind so far as regards motion, but that the sym- 

 pathetic, besides this common property, has the 

 power of conferring sensibility also. 



It has been proved, that the sympathetic 

 nerve is capable of being excited by galvanism. 

 SCHMUCK, FOWLER, PFAFF, LUDWIG, CREVE, 

 and WEBSTER, have excited the action of the 

 heart, both in warm and cold blooded animals. 

 HUMBOLDT has also produced contractions in 

 some of the inferior orders of animals, as the Umax 

 ater, ostrea edulis, helix pomatia, helix nemoralis, 

 sepia qfficinaliSy by the application of galvanism. 

 It has also been shown, that the diaphragm can 

 be sensibly excited by the same means.* 



CCXLI. All these arguments and direct ex- 

 periments tend to persuade or demonstrate, that 

 the function of the sympathetic nerve is the same 

 as that which belongs to the cerebral and spinal 

 nerves, viz. to distribute sensibility and motion 

 to almost every part of the thorax and abdomen 

 in the class mammalia, and in the inferior orders 

 to diffuse these properties throughout the whole 

 system. 



CCXLII. It was imagined by SGEMMERING 

 and BEHRENDS, that the numerous nervous 

 fibrillae sent by the sympathetic nerve to the 

 heart are not blended with the muscular fibres, 

 but simply accompanied the vessels of circulation. 

 It has since been shown, that these are as inti- 

 mately connected with them as the voluntary 



* LoBSTEIN, p. 174. 



