40 

 na, the neurones lyint' just beneatli. The final arborization 

 occurs near the body of some neurone. It is of a narrowly 

 branching type, with fine, bristle-like twi^s terminating the 

 branches (Fit;. 4,c. f . ) . 



c. The Fasciculus Communis. — This remarkable tract was 

 given the narce it now bears by Osborn ('85) in recognition of 

 the coniaion relationship of several cranial nerves to it. Va- 

 rious authors had noticed the fasciculus communis previous to 

 this titoe, but they had failed to grasp its significance. ?tie- 

 da ( '7Sa, p.4?9) had noted the presence of such a bundle in the 

 spinal cord of the selachian; Ahile Bohon ('77, p. 4*) described 

 it from the selachian brain under the name fasciculus longitu- 

 iinalis lateralis. The latter writer conjectured that it might 

 pertain to the tegmental system. 



In f/ustelus, the fasciculus communis is a very sharply 

 defined tract extending posteriorly from the VII nerve into 

 the spinal cord, where it lies close beside the gray matter 

 dorso-lateral to the canalis centralis. Its position in the 

 oblongata is shown in Fig.?, f.c. During a part of its course, 

 the viscero-motor nucleus is traversed by it. Some of the 

 communis fibres, instead of pursuing a course to the lobus 

 vagi for termination there, turn downward into the fasciculus 

 communis. Thence they are carried posterioi-ly into the spinal 

 cord for their ultimate distribution. 



From the account given by Strong ('9-5) of the fasciculus 



