AND ANIMAL LIFE. 273 



cannot occur, without giving rise to evident effects 

 in the contractions of the heart. 



CCXCIV. Pressure cannot disorder the motions 

 of the heart by deranging the nervous fluid in its 

 flow to this organ, because the action of this is 

 slightly altered by the destruction of the cerebrum 

 itself in which this supposed agent is annihilated; 

 neither can it be considered precisely in the light 

 of an irritant, because the hemispheres of the brain, 

 which may be particularly acted upon, have no 

 obvious and direct connection with the nerves 

 which are distributed to the heart ; and, more- 

 over, the application of pressure to a pulpy mass 

 does not possess the qualifications necessary to 

 disturb the remote relations of the nervous sys- 

 tem by the irritation it produces. But pressure, 

 and all mechanical means, are well calculated to 

 occasion immediate disturbance in the general 

 circulation of the system, particularly in the con- 

 tractions of the heart, from the direct and close 

 communication existing between this organ and 

 the brain. 



CCXCV. MONRO,* and WILSON PHILIP, as- 

 certained by experiment, that a solution of opium 

 poured into the cavity of the abdomen produced 

 more speedy effects than the same applied to the 

 mucous membrane of the intestines, or almost 

 any other part of the body. The former ima- 

 gines this circumstance to arise from the nerves 



* Id. opus, p. 145. 



S 



