No. 397.] REVIEWS OF RECENT LITERATURE. 63 
solution till more definite knowledge can be gained of the structure 
of cells in general. To us it seems that the nerve cell is one of the 
best cells in which these problems can be attacked. 
The section on the histogenesis of nerve tissue is less satisfactory 
than any of the preceding, because too little is given on histogenesis 
and too much on the topographical development of the vertebrate 
nervous system. The subject of the development of nerve fibres is 
only touched, and the differentiation of the various forms of nerve 
cells receives little attention. A very full account of the segmental 
arrangement of the spinal nerves and their relation to the muscula- 
ture is given. 
The physiological and pathological aspect of the neurone is treated 
in the fifth section. The metabolism of the nerve cell, as illustrated 
by the degeneration of its fibres when cut from it, is well described, 
and emphasis is justly laid on the lately discovered changes shown in 
cells from which fibres have been separated. The equally important 
subject of the regeneration of nerves is passed over with very few 
words. Reasons are brought forward to show that neurones in life 
are under slight but continuous stimulation, and that all parts of the 
neurone, including the dendrites, are more or less concerned with true 
nervous functions. The nature of nervous impulses is not discussed, 
but their directions so far as the cell body is concerned are shown to 
be not subject to such simple laws as have been formulated. This 
section concludes with an excellent résumé of the visible effects of 
fatigue and poisons on nerve cells, and a brief consideration of the 
means by which the cell body influences the nutrition of the distant 
parts of its fibres. 
The sixth section includes an exhaustive account of the groups of 
neurones making up the human nervous system. Its five subsections 
deal with the following groüps: sensory neurones of the first order ; 
sensory neurones of the second order; lower motor neurones; upper 
motor neurones ; and projector, commissural, and association neu- 
rones. 
While every student of neurology will be thankful to the author for 
the thoroughgoing way in which he has carried out his undertaking, 
and for the admirable clearness with which he has set down his 
results, the work is not without its faults. Chief among these is the 
very general absence of reference in the more introductory sections 
to the results of neurological study in the lower animals. While the 
comparative novelty of this field may be some excuse for its neglect, 
the part it has played in setting in a right light many of the general 
