184 
MR. YOUATT’s VETERINARY LECTURES. 
give the power of motion to, and bestow sensation on, the neigh¬ 
bouring muscles and parts. 
The Anastomoses of the Nerves .—This is not the time to trace 
minutely the course of these or of any of the spinal nerves : I 
shall have more satisfactorily to speak of them when we describe 
the various muscles and portions of the frame, and the nervous 
influence with which each is endowed. All that I shall attempt, 
at present, is a mere sketch of their origins, connexions, and ulti¬ 
mate destination: and, for minuter information, I would refer 
you to that admirable w r ork of my friend Mr. Percivall, the 
“ Anatomy of the Horse,” in w 7 hich he describes the course of 
the spinal nerves. I shall scarcely dare, in any great degree, 
to deviate from his very accurate description of them. 
I would beg your attention to the evident fact of the compound 
nerves of the spine dividing into innumerable ramifications, and 
more particularly anastomosing with branches from the neigh¬ 
bouring nerves. This sub-occipital nerve has direct communi¬ 
cation with the second cervical, the lingual, the recurrent, the 
glosso-pharyngeal, and the great organic nerves, and indirectly 
with the fifth, the seventh (portio dura), and almost all the cer- 
vicals. In the second cervical the direct and the indirect anas¬ 
tomoses increase, and they increase as we proceed down the frame ; 
and not only between considerable branches of the nerves, but 
the minutest ramifications of them ; and not merely a single anas¬ 
tomosis, but numerous ones between any two given nerves. They 
meet—they separate—they re-unite, they admit others into as¬ 
sociation,—they coalesce with every neighbouring one—they ex¬ 
tend the bond of union to distant nerves—to the most distant; 
in fact, the whole system is united together. We cannot unra¬ 
vel the entangled and matted fibres, but w T e have a clue to the na¬ 
ture and the design, and, I w 7 ould almost say, the simple arrange¬ 
ment of the whole. 
The Sensitive Fibrils .—The nerves of sensation ramify into 
branches of extreme minuteness. It was necessary that they 
should do so—that they should spread themselves everywhere, in 
order that there might not be the minutest part of the frame in 
which they did not give warning of danger or injury. Their 
anastomoses, probably, are few ; for it was necessary that the 
impression should be referrible to the precise spot on which it 
was made ; nor would it be consistent with the enjoyment of the 
animal, that any painful feeling should spread around, unless 
when the injury is extending and needs instant remedy, let we 
can conceive of minute fibrils of inter-communication between 
the sensitive nerves, in order to keep up a common feeling 
