THE SPINAL CORD AND CEREBELLUM 117 



greater part of the lateral column has heen said to 

 carry impulses to and fro between the local me- 

 chanisms below immediately connected with the 

 several spinal nerves and the brain above.* The 

 lateral horn is most conspicuous in the thoracic and 

 lower cervical regions, and it is precisely in this 

 portion of the cord that the lateral columns undergo 

 a decided development, whereas the anterior columns, 

 on the other hand, are greatly diminished. The 

 fundamental lateral column is believed to constitute 

 a path whereby impulses of touch and pain pass up 

 the cord to the brain. t 



Although physiologists generally agree that the Of the 

 posterior columns constitute a great path for sensory columns, 

 impulses, yet in this case again, as in that of the 

 fundamental columns, it has been found impossible 

 hitherto to fix with anything like certainty the func- 

 tions of the various parts of which they are composed. 

 Portions of the median column have been found to 

 correspond to the nerve-roots of the various sections 

 of the cord, the sacral, lumbar, and thoracic occupying 

 a position internal to the cervical. It has also been 

 noticed that severance of the posterior column in 

 animals produced no analgesia.]: This fact has led 

 to the conclusion that the columns in question are in 

 reality channels for muscular sensibility. There are, 

 however, certain fibres in GoU's column finer than 

 the rest, which, by reason of their more slender calibre, 



* Foster, loe. cit., p. 969. 



t Bechterew, loc. cit., p. 106. J Ibid. 



