366 
PROFESSOE MATTETJCCI’S ELECTRO-PHYSIOLOaiCAL RESEARCHES. 
stronger than the current obtained between the points touched by the positive electrode 
and the external portion of the nerve towards this electrode. 
In order to render this result more evident, I give the numbers obtained in several 
experiments in which the nerve had been subjected to the passage of the current, being 
laid upon two cushions- For the sake of brevity, let a, h, c, d be the nervous cord laid 
on the electrodes of a pile, these electrodes being indicated 
by b and c. After the passage of the current, I touch the 
extremities of the galvanometer with the points b c, or b a, 
or c d of the nerve. In all these cases the secondary current 
b c, obtained between the points b and c, has a contrary direc- 
tion to that of the pile, and is invariably the strongest. 1 he 
currents a b and c d, which are obtained in the portions of the 
nerve not traversed by the current, have the same direction as 
the pile-current ; b a (that is, the current obtained between the points touched by the 
negative electrode and the free extremity of the nerve) is always greater than the current 
c d between the positive electrode and the other extremity of the nerve. The following 
are the numbers obtained : — 
Sciatic nei-ve of a frog traversed during 60" by a current of eight small elements (zinc, 
carbon, and salt water) : — 
Current be 45° 
ab 10 
cd. 4 
Sciatic nerve of a sheep with a pile of eight elements during 60": — 
Current be 72° 
ab ...... ‘61 
e d 4 
Sciatic nerve of a rabbit with a pile of eight elements for 60" : — 
Current be 70° to 80° 
a b ...... 66 
e d 10 
I give also the numbers obtained in experiments in which, instead of cushions as 
extremities of the galvanometer, I employed two platinum wires carefully depolarized 
between each experiment. 
Sciatic nerve of a fowl with a pile of eight elements for 2 minutes : — 
Current be 25° 
ab 16 
e d 6 
Sciatic nerve of a sheep in the same conditions as the preceding experiment — 
Current be 90° 
ab 38 
e d 21 
