rs in
snakebite, where blood pressure is at zero. Feoktistow, we have seen,
produced it locally on the mesentery of animals with normal blood
pressure, whilst Banerjee arrested by strychnine-injections profuse
haemorrhages from all the mucous surfaces, which were no doubt the result
of diapedesis. We know that neither snake-poison nor strychnine affect
the nerve ends but only the nerve cells. There must therefore be nerve
cells at or near the terminations of the nerves regulating the
capillary circulation in the mucous membranes, but microscopical anatomy
has yet to find them, for minute ganglia have only been discovered at
present in sympathetic nerve ends of the abdomen.

On other subjects also, besides that of vaso-motor paralysis, the
strychnine treatment of snakebite has thrown an unexpected light. We did
not know before it was demonstrated by this treatment that sleep is
merely a reduced discharge of motor-nerve force, a partial turning off
of the motor-batteries, by which, through rest, they are invigorated for
fresh action during the waking hours, and that the degrees of this
reduction range in their effects from sleep, more or less deep, down to
coma, and can be raised again from coma to sleep, and from sleep to
complete wakefulness. We knew that every movement and action is brought
about by a discharge of this force, but we did not know that even the
silent thought must be carried on the wings of it, and cannot take place
without it, at least not in our present state of existence. All these
important revelations are now the property of science, and it will be
well for science to take note of them.

* * * * *

In conclusion, the writer may be permitted to express his joy and
thankfulness for having been made the instrument, by Divine Providence,
to confer a boon on humanity that will prevent much suffering and
thousands of premature, untimely deaths.

+-----------------------------------------------+
| Transcriber's Note: |
| |
| Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the |
| original document have been preserved. |
| |
| Typographical errors corrected in the text: |
| |
| Page 23 intracardial changed to intracardiac |
| Page 69 Banarjee changed to Banerj