THE 
VETERINARIAN. 
VOL. YJ,No. 72.] DECEMBER, 1833. [New Series, No. 12. 
MR. YOUATT^S VETERINARY LECTURES, 
DELIVERED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON. 
LECTURE XXXVUI. 
A Sketch of the IServous System, 
I HAVE observed in a former lecture, that the cerebral and 
tlie spinal nerves present themselves symmetrically; that they 
are arranged in pairs, one on each side of the mesian line, that 
runs from the anterior portion of the brain to the cauda equina. 
I will first enumerate them in the order in which they present 
themselves at the base of the brain; rapidly describing their 
origin, destination, and function ; we shall then be better able 
to arrange them according to their respective agencies, and 
thus, probably, get rid of a little of the mystery which has been 
supposed, but very erroneously, to encircle the nervous system. 
This will be the proper time for me to endeavour to justify my 
departure from the nomenclature and physiological exposition 
hitherto adopted by veterinary writers. 
Description of the Cerebral Xerves according to their Situation at 
the Base of the Brain. 
Commencing anteriorly, w^e find,— 
1. The Olfactory nerve aiising from the corpora striata and cal¬ 
losum ; passing through the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone, 
and distributed on the membrane of the nose— a nerve of pecu¬ 
liar sensation, and its minute ramifications affected only by the 
odoriferous particles of bodies. 
2. The Optic nerve arising from the thalamus nervi optici, 
and connected by medullary striae with the corpora quadrige- 
mina,—pursuing its course to the back of the eye, piercing the 
sclerotic coat, expanding over the choroid coat, and forming the 
retina— a nerve of peculiar sensation^ and affected only by the 
particles of light. 
3. The Motor Oculi, from the middle of the crus cerebri to all 
the muscles of the eye, except the superior oblique and the ab¬ 
ductor,— a nerve of volunary motion. 
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