•92 ON THE NATURE AND ACTION OF THE 



Experiment LXIII. 



July 21st, 1873. — A rabbit was etherised and the cerebral 

 lobes were exposed and carefully removed. 

 3 P.M. Operation finished. 



3.7. Respirations 37 per minute. 



3.8. A small quantity of cobra-poison injected into the flank. 

 Active reflex movements occur on pinching the limbs and tail, 

 ■and respiration also becomes more rapid. 



3.12. Respirations 96 per minute. Heart's action feeble. 

 3.23. Breathing hurried. Reflex force continues active. 

 Another quantity of cobra-poison injected, the two doses 

 together not making more than a moderate amount. 



3.37. Respirations very feeble. The upper part of the spinal 

 cord, on being irritated by a Faradic current, caused movements 

 in the limbs. Reflex movements still present, but much 

 diminished. 



3.38. Respirations ceased. Cannula inserted in the trachea, 

 a,nd artificial respiration commenced. 



3.40. Sciatic nerve exposed and irritated by a strong current, 

 induced twitchings in the limbs, but occasioned no reflex move- 

 ment in any other part of the body. 



3.45. The animal seems perfectly dead. The strongest current 

 produces no effect either when applied to the cord or to the 

 sciatics. 



The colour of the muscles seems changed when compared 

 with those of the other rabbit (Experiment LXIV) which had 

 no poison. They are of a less vivid colour, and altogether have 

 an altered appearance. 



In this experiment the respirations became quickened from 

 37 to 96 per minute after the injection of the poison, although 

 the cerebral lobes had been previously removed. The accelera- 

 tion, therefore, could not be due to emotion, or to the action of 

 the poison on the cerebrum. A comparison with Experi- 

 ment LXiV, in which the cerebral lobes were removed without 

 injecting any poison, shows that in the latter no acceleration 

 whatever occurred, and the respirations became gradually slower 

 till they ceased. 



