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action was produced by the tickling of the sole of the foot. The 

 greatest duration of reflex action that I have observed after death 

 has been in a case of cerebral apoplexy. It has lasted thirteen 

 minutes after the last breathing, and about eight minutes after 

 the last beating of the heart. Dr. Bennet Dowler has recorded 

 many curious facts (observed in cases of death from yellow-fever, 

 cholera, etc.,) from which he concludes also that the movements 

 taking place in the limbs are not reflex actions. 



I have found that, in general, the more sudden and complete 

 has been the asphyxia before death, by cholera, the more the 

 limbs are moved after death. I have found also that it is in pa- 

 tients who have died during the algid period that these move- 

 ments are ordinarily found. 



These facts, as I will show hereafter, appear to prove that 

 these movements, like the other movements, of which I have 

 previously spoken, are excited by carbonic acid alone, or toge- 

 ther with the poison of cholera. 



8. Spontaneous contractions of the bowels, the bladder, the iris 

 and other parts of the body. It is known that frequently at the 

 time of death, many of the contractile tissues of the body are 

 put into contraction. I can go farther and say that it is so with 

 all the contractile tissues ; and that, contrary to the general 

 opinion, a nervous action is not necessary for these contractions. 



There are contractions in all the following organs or tissues 

 during agony and after death : 1, the muscles of animal life ; 

 2, the sphincter of the anus ; 3, the respiratory muscles ; 4, the 

 iris ; 5, the digestive canal (in all its length) ; 6, the urinary 

 bladder ; 7, the uterus ; 8, the scrotum, (dartos) ; 9, the gall- 

 bladder; 10, the ureters; 11, the seminal vesicles; 12, the 

 bronchial tubes ; 13, the skin ; 14, the blood-vessels ; 15, the 

 lymphatics ; 16, the cilia. 



As to the skin, in many cases the so-called goose-flesh (cutis 

 anserina) takes place a little before or little after death, although 

 the body has not yet become cold. I have seen it vejy strongly 

 marked on the inferior limbs of a paraplegic who died of a soften- 

 ing of the dorso-lumbar part of the spinal cord. It results from 

 this fact that the cellular tissue is able to contract from the same 



