9 
of Edinburgh, Session 1878 - 79 . 
physiological point of view ; and they may he said to have been 
the first to convince the leaders of medical thought, that a true 
knowledge of the actions of poisonous and medicinal agents can 
only be arrived at by a thorough investigation of their effects on 
the animal organism in a state of health , combined with observations 
of their effects in diseased conditions. A wide stream of research 
already flows from this conviction, and practical medicine is con- 
stantly deriving increasing benefit therefrom. 
In addition to these — his greatest works — Bernard also made 
important observations on the functions of the fifth, seventh, and 
eighth cranial nerves ; on recurrent sensibility ; on the secretion of 
the salivary, gastric, and intestinal juices; on the temperature of 
the blood in the right and left sides of the heart ; on the gases of 
the blood and their variations as the blood circulates through organs 
in a state of rest as compared with a state of activity ; on the modi- 
fications in the secretions of the stomach and intestinal canal after 
removal of the kidneys ; and on the production of albuminuria by 
lesions of the nervous system. 
Bernard was adored by his pupils, not only because of his great- 
ness as an investigator and as a teacher, but also on account of the 
enthusiasm with which he inspired them, and the unceasing spirit 
of affection and encouragement which he ever manifested towards 
them. Happily for physiology and for medicine, he gave no coun- 
tenance to that sentiment which would deter from performing a 
painful experiment on an animal, for the purpose of eventually saving 
pain and saving life both of man and of animals ; while it is silent 
with regard to the vast amount of suffering inflicted on animals for 
purposes that are frivolous and unnecessary. 
Those who knew Bernard best can aver that he was a man of 
kindly disposition, who lived a blameless life, and devoted himself 
faithfully and only too earnestly to the advancement of medical 
science, — almost to the very day of his death, on the 10th day of 
February last. 
He deserved well of his country, for he had done as much as the 
greatest of his predecessors, and the most renowned of his contem- 
poraries, to keep her in the foremost rank of science ; and France 
was not slow to recognise the greatness and the unselfish character 
of the service he had rendered to her, as well as to science ; for her 
VOL. x. 
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