The American Naturalist. [September, 
PHYSIOLOGY.' 
Effects of stimulating nerve cells.— A full account of Hodge's 
work on this subject has recently appeared.^ The results are highly 
interesting and important. The author's method was to stimulate for 
several hours (with regular periods of rest) the nerves attached to 
several of the spinal ganglia of the frog or the cat. The stimulated 
ganglion and a resting ganglion of the same animal were then excised 
and subjected to identical treatment in preparation for histological ex- 
amination and comparison. Corrosive sublimate was the usual 
hardening reagent, and some or all of the components of Gaule's 
quadruple stain were used for staining. The chief results of the stimu- 
A. For the nucleus : i. Marked decrease in size. 2. Change from 
a smooth and rounded to a jagged, irregular outline. 3. Loss of open 
reticular appearance with darker stain. 
B. For the cell protoplasm : i. Slight shrinkage in size. 2. Lessen- 
ed power to stain or to reduce osmic acid. 3. Vacuolation. 
C. For the cell capsule : Decrease in size of the nuclei. 
The effects of the work are exhibited chiefly by the large cells, the 
small cells showing little or no change. Incidental observations on 
the connection of ihe cells and the fibres in the ganglia were made. 
Careful teasing of ganglia by means of a fine jet of water instead of 
needles showed that no apolar cells were present ; typical bipolar cells 
and T-cells occur ; other suggestive details were rnade out which are at 
present being investigated. Careful counting of the fibres of a pos- 
terior root and of the cells {i.e., the nucleoli) in the corresponding 
ganglion showed the cells to be much more numerous— in the most 
careful count 1340 fibres and 4456 cells. This indicates a complex 
relation of the two within the ganglion. 
Spinal ganglia.— The vexed question of the relation of the nerve 
fibres to the nerve cells in the spinal ganglia has been subjected to a 
new investigation by Gad and Joseph. ^ They employed the ganglion 
mgulare of the rabbit, which is attached to the vagus nerve outside the 
1 This Department is edited by Dr. Frederic S. Lee, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn 
■^ American Journal of Psychology, May, 1889. For preliminary account see the 
