ULTIMATE DISTRIBUTION. 249 



dered fibres are doubtless sympatbetic fibres, for it 

 bas been sbown tbat tbere are fine fibres springing 

 from ganglion- cells whicTi retain tbe same character 

 from tbeii- origin to their distribution, § 234. J^ot 

 only bas the nerve nature of the fine fibres above 

 described been proved by tracing them from their 

 connexion with ganglion- cells, but a dark-bordered 

 fibre has often been observed to be drawn out so as 

 to form a line as fine as these fine fibres. Indeed the 

 observer often fads to trace an individual dark-bor- 

 dered fibre for any great distance in consequence of 

 its becoming exceedingly fine at the point where it 

 crosses, or is crossed by other dark-bordered fibres. 

 Kot only so, but where a bundle of comparatively 

 wide dark- bordered fibres passes through, a small aper- 

 ture, as for example in a bone, tbe fibres appear, as it 

 were, drawn out to exceedingly thin thi-eads. 



216. Of tlie distribution of the ultimate pale ''nu- 

 cleated" nerve.libres to the elementary muscular 

 fibres. — Few anatomical questions have received of 

 late years a larger share of attention than the ulti- 

 mate arrangement of nerve-fibres in voluntary muscle. 

 It is a matter of regret to me that althougb I have 

 studied the question in many ways dui-ing the last 

 five years, my conclusions do not accord with those 

 of any other observer. And I must admit that al- 

 though the German writers difier from one another 

 on very important points, they, nevertheless, agree in 

 tbis, that the nerves form ends, pass into end-organs, 

 or exhibit terminal extremities of some kind ; while, 

 on the other hand, my observations have led me to 

 conclude, not only that nerves never terminate in ends 

 in voluntary muscle, hut that there are no terminal ex- 

 tremities or ends in amj nerve organ whatever. 



There is this further broad difference between 

 foreign observers and myself, that while they con- 

 sider that each elementary muscular fibre is very 

 sparingly supplied with nerves — a very long fibre 



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