071 the Irritability of Nerves. 5 
sibility went off, and the patient recovered himself : there was, 
however, a general feel of languor and distress over the whole 
body, before the recovery. 
From these observations, the disease appeared to be decidedly 
in the inferior branches of the median nerve ; and the irritation 
was conveyed along its course, from its terminations in the 
thumb and fore-finger, to the origin in the brain. 
It was proposed to divide the nerve, as it passes from under 
the annular ligament of the wrist towards the thumb, to cut off 
the communication between the diseased extremities and the 
trunk of the nerve, and so put a stop to the progress of the 
irritation which constituted the disease. 
That such an operation might be attended with success, was 
not only rendered probable from reasoning, but the performing 
it was fully justified by the success which had been experienced 
from a similar operation, in some cases of the Tic douleureux ; a 
disease, in many respects, of the same nature with the present. 
All these circumstances were explained to the patient, who, 
from a desire of obtaining relief, consented to have the nerve 
divided. This was done on the 1st of January, 1800, in the fol- 
lowing manner : the nerve, as it passes from under the annular 
ligament, towards the thumb and fore-Unger, was laid bare, for 
above an inch in length ; it was then detached from its lateral 
connections, and, in this exposed state, a probe-pointed bistoury 
was passed behind itj and the nerve was raised upon the edge of 
the instrument, so as to be distinctly seen by the different 
medical gentlemen present, before it was cut through. As soon 
as it was divided, the two cut ends retracted from one another, 
to a considerable distance. This retraction was very unexpected, 
as the nerve was disengaged from the cellular membrane, and 
