Currents of Nervous Energy in Skin Cells 33 
out from the nucleus and quite independent of the form 
and extent of the conductor which carries it. 
But it is very probable that this nervous current or 
discharge which is conducted from the nucleated cell 
along the protoplasmic filaments to the anucleated frag- 
ment of the contiguous cell, also passes across into the 
fragment even when it contains a nucleus and so also 
when it is replaced by an entire cell. This leads us to 
the conception that wherever intercellular protoplasmic 
connections are present, the various nuclear currents or 
discharges stream through these connections and so 
permit a general nervous flux throughout the whole net- 
work of these protoplasmic bridges, in the meshes of 
which the nuclei themselves would constitute the nodal 
points. In this way one would have a continuous 
circulation or distribution of nervous energy throughout 
the entire organism. 
This supposition is supported by the experiments of 
Siegfried Garten. On his own arm he cut out a little 
disc of skin one centimeter in diameter so as to lay bare 
the muscle fibers. Without suturing the wound he 
covered it with an aseptic dressing and left it to the 
process of granulation. After the wound was completely 
covered with epithelium except only a small circle of 
1.75 mm. radius he cut out the whole piece again and 
enough around it to reach to the area in which the 
skin was in quite normal condition. 
Microscopic observation gave the following result: 
Studying it from the center of the wound out, one met 
first of all a greater or less number of wedge shaped 
epithelial cells with the long axes radially disposed. 
Surrounding this came next an annular zone, 0.45 mm. 
broad, of fusiform epithelial cells whose long axes were 
