248 AVERS. [Vol. VI. 



thus be destroyed even in mammals without producing equilibra- 

 tive disturbances, there is no question that the disturbances 

 seen to follow canal section in Pigeons are not due simply to 

 the section of the canals. 



The disturbances appearing after canal section are of two 

 kinds, — those appearing immediately after the operation and 

 those which make their appearance some time (usually several 

 days) after the operation, e.g. malposition of the head, on which 

 Goltz laid so much stress. Pigeons thus operated on and show- 

 ing the characteristic disturbances, when studied (dissected) five 

 to eight days later, showed conditions similar to those just 

 described for dogs. The injured ear was found to present a 

 bony scar, within which the semicircular canals were hardly 

 discernible. The larger ear chambers were entirely degener- 

 ated and converted into pus, and the inflammatory process had 

 affected the brain, especially the vermis, which was usually 

 found degenerate. While in such cases the abnormal symptoms 

 only appear slowly as the cerebellar inflammation progresses, 

 they may be brought on suddenly by deeper lesions ; and in all 

 such cases blood was found in the medulla near the entrance to 

 the fourth ventricle, and small hemorrhages were found in the 

 cerebellum and pons. Since injury to the vermis is followed by 

 malposition of the head, we must conclude that the inflamma- 

 tion and hemorrhages in the same parts cause the motor dis- 

 turbances, and that these are due always to an affection of the 

 brain, which either appears immediately after canal section 

 or else later, induced by the inflammatory processes. Goltz's 

 ideas are thus proven to be incorrect and his deductions re- 

 futed. 



Baginski was never able to confirm the results obtained by 

 Flourens, Goltz, Cyon, according to which there existed a con- 

 stant relation of the motions of the head to the plane of the 

 canal (or canals) cut. He found, on the contrary, no constancy 

 in the symptoms after the same operation on different animals, 

 and he concludes that after careful and exact observation he is 

 certain that the assumed relation between the position of the 

 semicircular canals and equilibrative disturbances following their 

 section does not exist. The co-ordination disturbances of the 

 body are not in any way subject to the spatial relations of 

 the canals. The falling and pitching movements occurred in 



