STRL'CTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OP REISSNER’s FIBRE. 19 
In March of tlie same year, Ayers (’08) described the 
occurrence of ‘Ventricular fibres in Myxinoids.” His des- 
criptions, though somewhat vague, appear to relate to 
Keissner’s fibre, and to confirm,^ to a large extent, the 
account of that structure as given in 1894 for Myxine by 
Sanders, of whose work, as, indeed, of the existence of this 
fibre in other vertebrates, Ayers seems, however, to have 
been wholly unaware. 
Edinger (’08), who some year earlier had given a very 
diagi’ammatic figure of the sub-commissural organ of 
Scyllium, which he considered to be of a secretory nature, 
is, I believe, the only recent worker to adhere to Stieda’s view 
that Reissner’s fibre is to be looked upon merely as an artifact. 
In the same year Horsley (’08) recorded the existence 
of the fibre in Primates, finding it present in two species of 
Macacus. He mentioned certain expeiiments, performed 
by himself and Dr. McNalty, and stated that division of 
Reissner’s fibre was not followed by that degeneration of 
the distal portion which is characteristic of severed nerves, 
and he expressed the opinion that Sherrington had been 
premature in accepting Sargent’s theoiy, lacking, as it did, 
adequate confirmation. 
During 1908-1909 Favaro (’08, ’09) referred several times 
to Reissner’s fibre. He summarizes Studnicka’s work and 
briefly mentions Sargent’s “optic reflex theory,” concerning 
which he offers no opinion. He refers also to Ayers’ paper, 
and reproduces a diagram from Kolmer’s work in which 
Reissner’s fibre is shown. 
In 1909 Dendy (’09) further announced the occurrence of 
Reissner’s fibre in the cat and the tuatara. He altogether 
repudiated his former acceptance of Sargent’s theory, and 
put forward an eutirely new suggestion as to the function of 
the fibre and the related sub-commissural organ, pointing out 
that the fibre may quite possibly play merely a mechanical 
part in automatically regulating flexure of the body, its varia- 
tions in tension acting as stimuli upon the cells of the sub- 
commissural organ to which it is attached. 
