76 



ments of Brodie, Chossat, H. Nasse and Macartney, it results 

 that the following opinion of Dr. Cl. Bernard is incorrect. He 

 says : " It is known that injuries of the cerebro-spinal ner- 

 vous system constantly produce a total or a partial diminu- 

 tion in the temperature of animals, either when a nerve has been 

 divided or when the injury is made on the nervous centres."* 

 He says also that an injury of the sympathetic nerve produces 

 a very rapid increase of temperature ; so that the sympathetic 

 nerve and the cerebro-spinal nervous system are considered by 

 Dr. Bernard as completely different, one from the other, as to 

 the influence on animal heat when they are injured. The one 

 should increase and the other diminish animal heat. 



The truth is that these two effects increase and diminution 

 may exist after an injury of either the sympathetic or the cere- 

 bro-spinal nervous system ;f and, in both cases, the increase may 

 exist, at first, and be followed by a diminution. 



Before pointing out the co-existence of certain facts with the 

 increase or diminution of animal heat, I think it necessary to es- 

 tablish a distinction between the cases of increase of animal heat 

 after injuries of the nervous system. 



In some cases (as those related by Brodie) there has been an 

 increase of temperature above the natural standard of animal 

 heat. These are very extraordinary and very rare cases, and 

 it is not my intention to attempt to explain them here. In the 

 cases, the degree of temperature, although increased in some other 

 paralyzed parts, has not been above the normal degree of blood 

 heat. This is the only kind of increase of animal heat that I 

 have observed, and this I will attempt to explain. 



I have found that, ceteris paribus, the more the arteries 

 and capillaries are dilated, the higher is the degree of tempera- 

 ture. This law is proved by the following facts : 



1st. In all the cases of paralysis (from whatever cause) 

 where I have found a diminution in the degree of temperature 

 of a paralyzed part, the arteries and capillaries were evidently 

 much contracted. 



2d. In the cases where the temperature was normal, the blood- 

 vessels were of their natural size. 



*Gaz. Medic, de Paris, Vol. 7, No. 14, p, 227. 

 t Vide : Chossat, loco clt. : pp. 41-46. 



