56 



uniting, in co-ordinate movements isolated muscular contractions,* 

 which is called by German physiologists the faculty of adaptation 

 to an end. That property manifests itself by movements similar to 

 those executed by unmutilated animals when they feel a pain ; 

 and it happens, sometimes, that these reflex movements are less 

 disordered than the movements consecutive to a violent pain in 

 an unmutilated animal. The agitation of the animals deprived of 

 all the parts of their encephalon is merely the result of an action 

 of the reflex faculty. 



The cries also appear to exist only in consequence of a re- 

 flex action. This appears to be diflicult to be proved, and it will 

 seem nearly impossible to admit that cries may be produced 

 by an animal that has felt no pain, or that has not had the will 

 of crying. We may consider a cry as a noise produced in 

 the larynx, as many times a quick expiration is performed when 

 the vocal cords are stretched. Now as the tension of these cords 

 and the expiration is produced by muscular contractions, it is 

 easy to understand that these contractions are produced by a 

 reflex action as well as the contractions of the muscles of the 

 limbs. 



For those who know that hiccup, coughing, sneezing, vomiting 

 and so forth, frequently are mere reflex phenomena, there ought 

 to be no difficulty in admitting that crying is a pure reflex 

 action. 



If we here use the expressive language of Flourens, we will 

 say, that the medulla oblongata has the faculty of uniting in a 

 co-ordinate movement, the contractions of the expiratory muscles 

 and that of the tensor muscles of the glottis. 



From the facts and reasonings contained in this note I will 

 now draw the following conclusions : 



1st, That the experiment by which many physiologists have 

 endeavored to prove that the cerebral lobes are not the exclusive 

 seat of the perceptions, do not give such a proof. 



2d, That animals can cry after the removal of the whole 

 encephalon, except only the medulla oblongata. 



3d, That the existence of cries cannot prove that there is 

 a perception of pain, because cries result from muscular contrac- 

 tions which may be pure reflex actions. 



* That is the name given by Flourens more than 25 years ago. 



