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POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
fibres) result from tbe processes of tbe cells, or connective- tissue corpuscles, 
as the Germans term them. 
The Vaso'-motor Nerves of the Brain. — The opinions long since formulated 
by Bernard and the French physiologists regarding the action of the vaso- 
motor nerves of the brain have received confirmation in a paper recently 
published in Virchow’s Archiv (Band 41, 1867) by Herr Xothnagel. The 
experiments of this observer were conducted on rabbits which had not been 
narcotized, and are therefore especially worthy of notice, as being less liable 
to error than many of the experiments recorded from time to time. In the 
course of his investigations, Herr Nothnagel found that the vessels of the 
pia mater dilated after simple section of the trunk of the cervical sympa- 
thetic, and frequently contracted after the excitation of the distal end of the 
divided nerve by electricity. The vessels of the pia mater also contracted 
after the application of electricity to the superior cervical ganglion ; but 
were dilated after the removal of this ganglion. Irritation of the senses, 
after the division of both sympathetic nerves, or the removal of the superior 
ganglia on both sides, caused contraction of the vessels of the pia mater. 
To account for this last result, it is supposed that some of the vaso-motor 
filaments are supplied by the cranial nerves which anastomose with the 
carotid plexus in its course through the carotid canal : these nerves are, the 
motores oculorum, the trigeminal nerves, the abducent, the glosso-pharyn- 
geal, and the vagi. 
Pathology of the Skin. — Herr Biesadecki has presented a memoir to the 
Vienna Academy on this subject, in which, after dealing with the healthy 
structure, he treats of the conditions of growth in various inflammations. 
Phlegmonous or erysipelatous inflammations are not simply the result of an 
exudation, but are also connected with a new formation of cells in the true 
skin and in the subcutaneous cellular tissue ; the alteration of the walls of 
the vessels is a secondary process. Syphilitic induration of the prepuce is 
also accompanied by increased cell growth ; a decided multiplication of the 
nuclei in the walls of the vessels may also be seen : these nuclei, he thinks, 
ultimately block up the blood-vessels, and thus cause desquamation. The 
same may be said of syphilitic spots. Condyloma would seem to be associated 
with a similar development of cells. In the production of eczematous vesi- 
cles the process is different. Here the cells originate from the deep skin, 
but they soon pass into the mucous layer of the cuticle, and by their division 
they separate the two layers (scaly and mucous) of the cuticle, and in this 
way produce a conical pustule. — Medical Times, February 1. 
Phosphorized Chloroform. — The French correspondent of the Medical 
Times and Gazette directs attention to the efforts made by M. Beaumetz to 
introduce phosphorus into therapeutics. Phosphorus has been objected to 
because of the digestive disturbances it produces ; but M. Beaumetz states 
that the objections are due, not to the agent itself, but to the preparations 
hitherto employed. He therefore proposes a new vehicle for this substance, 
viz. chloroform. The solution prepared contained toVo'^^ solid phospho- 
rus. It is administered in capsules of gelatine (highly coloured in order to 
avoid the decomposing action of light), and containing each one gramme of 
the liquid, a quantity equivalent to one milligramme of phosphorus. It is, 
therefore, easy to calculate how much the patient is taking, since each 
