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LECTURE II. 



I PROCEED to speak of the strurture and 

 functions of the nervous fibres. 



The nerves which we observe pervading 

 the body, appear to be packets of very 

 minute threads, seemingly distinct from 

 each other. The nerves divide and sub- 

 divide, and in so doing a certain number 

 of threads separate from the original packet, 

 and appear as a distinct nerve. It is, there- 

 fore, possible to trace a minute nerve, up 

 to its origin, from the toe or finger, by 

 splitting it off from the various packets with 

 which it has been conjoined. So far does 

 anatomical fact concur with the physiolo- 

 gical opinion, that every nervous filament 

 communicates distinctly with the brain or 

 some process of that organ. 



This apparent continuity is, however, 



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