82 ON THE NATURE AND ACTION OF THE 



the excitability of the cord went on diminishing, after the 

 injection of the poison ; and all communication with the 

 inhibitory centres having been previously cut off by dividing 

 the medulla, this effect could only be due to the action of the 

 poison on the cord. 



Experiment LYI. 

 At 1.16. Half a drop of cobra-poison was injected into the 

 peritoneal cavity of a guinea-pig. 



1.17. The animal is restless and twitching ; runs about. 



1.18. Micturates. 



1.24. It is getting weak and sluggish. The hind quarters 

 have assumed a crouching posture. It moves when roused. 



1.26. It looks drowsy, is disinclined to move, and is jerking. 

 The hind legs are almost paralysed. When they are retracted 

 it draws them up with difficulty. 



1.27. Has defecated. Is convulsed generally, but the con- 

 vulsions are more marked in the hind quarters. 



1.32. Convulsions continue. They are not increased or 

 excited by external stimuli. Cornea insensible. 



1.34. Mouth only twitches. Heart acting vigorously. 



1.35. The animal is quite dead. 



1.36. The spinal cord irritated by an induced current through 

 electrodes inserted in the vertebral column. The irritability of 

 the cord seems perfect. (It was judged of by the contractions 

 of the hind limbs.) 



1.40. The heart continues to beat. Thorax laid open. The 

 vagi isolated and one of them irritated. The cardiac action 

 seems to be increased by the irritation of the vagus. The 

 auricles contract very rapidly, the ventricles not so rapidly. 

 The cord is still irritable. 



1,50. The irritability of the spinal cord as affecting the lower 

 extremities is almost gone ; as affecting the upper limbs it is 

 still retained. Heart still contracts vigorously. 



1.54. The lower limbs are no longer affected by electricity 

 applied to the spinal cord. The upper limbs are aff'ected. 



1.56. The spinal cord is still slightly irritable. The heart is 

 acting freely. 



2. Cord still slightly irritable. Heart acts briskly. 



