TRAUMATIC LESIONS. 387 
muscular groups where the contused nerve is distributed sometimes 
remains. 
After being considered for a long time as absolutely harmless, Agature 
of nerves is accused of serious accidents. Now, it is known that it can- 
not give rise to tetanus, but it produces acute pains, neuritis, paralysis; on 
that account isolation of nerves during operation is essential. If an artery 
is to be ligated, the surrounding nerves must be respected. The close 
relations of the pneumo-gastric, sympathetic and recurrent with the carotid 
are known: it is useless to insist on the danger of constriction of these 
important branches. In the rare amputations that we have made, the 
nerves were always isolated and divided a little higher than the other tissues. 
Ligature of nervous branches gives rise to active reactions. If it has 
been done accidentally, the ligature must be cut immediately and the 
nerve carefully isolated from the tissues which are to be ligated. 
Though nerves enjoy a great elasticity, they are exposed to stretching, 
tearing and pulling. Luxations, fractures with displacement, callus, 
tumors of large size, violent mechanical or traumatic actions may produce 
in nerves lesions varying from the simple distension to complete tearing. 
In the celebrated stallion Physician, affected with a fracture of the fore- 
- arm, the cubito-plantar and cubito-cutaneous nerves were found lacerated 
by the fragments of bones and inflammed in two-thirds of the extent of 
the forearm. Under the influence of mechanical or traumatic influences 
of equal violence, arteries and veins give away before nervous cords 
do. In these, the nervous tubes break up first, the neurilemma 
stretches like the external coat of arteries. The pulling of sensitive 
nerves gives rise to pain, to which succeeds anesthesia in the field of dis-. 
tribution of the involved nerve. With motor nerves, the same cause brings: 
on paralysis. The artificial pulling of nerves has been tried in man, to 
overcome some painful affection. ‘Trials of this kind, made on horses, 
have given results inferior to those obtained by neurotomy. 
Ordinarily in simple stretching, after having attended’ to the cause 
(reduction of luxations, of fractures, removal of a tumor, partial resection: 
of a callus) sensibility and motricity reappear. Revulsives may usefully 
overcome the consecutive disturbances. Complete pulling generally goes 
with such serious lesions that the killing of the patient imposes itself. 
Amputation of the leg or suture of the nerve are the means to use in small 
species. 
Nerves may be the seat of pricks, cuts, contused or gunshot wounds. 
We are lacking clinical documents upon simple pricks of nerves in 
animals. Notwithstanding the small size of the wounding body, a few fibers 
are always divided: a “bloody sub-neurilematic or interfascicular suffu- 
sion ” takes place, producing only slight troubles. 
