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and we find that the movements do not last as long as if the 

 blood had not been removed. 



When an animal is killed by haemorrhage, the intestine, as well 

 as all the other organs, contains more blood than usual, and then 

 its movements are not so strong, and last less than they do gene- 

 rally. 



When in a recently asphyxiated animal the arteries and veins 

 of a part of the bowels are divided, the movements of that part 

 become less strong and last less than those of the other parts of 

 the intestine. 



When the bowels of a recently asphyxiated animal are put 

 under a receiver containing carbonic acid, their movements are 

 very much increased, but they do not last so long as when they 

 are in the atmosphere. 



When they are put under a receiver containing hydrogen, 

 their movements are very quickly diminished in strength, and 

 they last still less than when exposed to carbonic acid. 



When they are put in oxygen, their movements diminish a 

 little at first and soon after become stronger, and they last much 

 longer than usual. 



As a general conclusion about the apparently spontaneous con- 

 tractions which I have described as taking place in paralyzed 

 muscles during life or after death, I will say that it seems that 

 black blood by its carbonic acid is the cause of these contractions. 

 When the nervous centres are still united with the contractile 

 tissues, we see, during agony or after death, stronger movements 

 generally than when they are separated. The action of black 

 blood on the nervous centres may be very great. I have found 

 that the spinal cord, when separated from the encephalon, may 

 be strongly excited by black blood. If an animal is asphyxiated 

 after a transversal and complete division of its spinal marrow in 

 the dorsal region, we see convulsions taking place in the poste- 

 rior limbs, and they are nearly as strong as when the nervous 

 centers have not been injured. The excitation on the spinal 

 marrow is considerable enough to produce an erection of the 

 penis.* 



* Almost all, if not all, the secretions of the body are increased during 

 asphyxia: bile, (as shown by Professor Bouisson,) saliva, tears, gastric, 

 pancreatic and intestinal juices, and also liver-sugar, etc., are produced in 



