Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-02-22
THE NEW DISCOVERY
BY WHICH MANKIND SHALL BE EMAN-
CIPATeO FROM NERVES."
Fibers of One Class of Nerves Grated
Upon Those of Another Class-Ter-
ribIe Pains Changed into
Harmless Sensations



1t was not Socrates who said perfect hap
piness is impossible because man has nerves.
but the remark might have been made with
entire truth by the great discoverer Of hem
lock as an antidote for scolding wife For
it is to the nerves chiefly that mankind and
especially womankind, owes the ma jor por-
tion of its sufferings The amount of misery
occasionei by mere nervousness SO called,
is very great; and when We add these to the
special pangs for which separate and inii-
vidual branches of the nervous syst an are
directly responsible, the sum total becomes
simply incalculable IL IL were not for his
meddlesome nerves man could bump his
head or pinch his fingers, or even have his
corns trcdden on without any serious annoy
ance Fire and frost would lose all their
terrors; and the fend, neuralgia, would re-
turn bowling 10 his den, if he has one and
be known no more among the children Of
men
The medical profession has long recognized
this tyranny of the nervous system 1t could
hardly help doing so since it is one of the
chief sources of the medical mans income
But with self-sacrifcing spirit rarely found
IN any profession. the doctors have studi-
ously sought to relieve mankind from the
tyranny. Their noble efforts have not been
unavailing In the current number of The
Medical News it is related that Dr. Edward
7. Reichert has been experimenting recently
in the laboratory of Professor Schiff at Ge
Deva upon the reunion of divided nerves.
His object, in the plain untechnical language
of The News, "was to determine whether
fiberS of nerves of entirely different origin
and function, though still motor or sensory,
would unite, and should regeneration occur,
to ascertain whether q motor nerve was ca
pable of conveying impulses peculiar to an
other sensory nerve. To this end, the vague
and hypoglossal nerves were selected as
being of distinct origin and function, and as
affording the best facilities for observation.
Five dogs were prepared by Professor
Schiff by cutting the hypoglossal on one
side close to its exit from the Uranium and
the vagus at the thyroid gland. The peri
pheral end of the hypoglossal was sutured
to the central end of the vagus by silk
thread through the neurilemma" The re-
suit, We quote from the remarkably clear
statement of The News, "proved that the
motor fibers Of the vagus in the five dogs
operated upon, united to similar fibers of the
hypoglosSal, and that the hypoglossal fibers
conveyed impulses which were peculiar to
the vagus apparatus. They showed, more
over, that in at least one dog, irritation of
the sensory Ibers in the hypoglossal trunk
gave rise to impulses which were conveyed
by the sensory tibers of the vagus to the
vagus centers, and produced effects like
those produced by exctation of the vagus
trunk, thus proving in both instances that q
motor or sensory nerve can convey impulses
peculiar to another motor or sensory nerve
of entirely different origin and function"
Tll q II il
when you once get the hang of it Like
most great inventions, also. there will un-
doubtedly be mistakes at first in operating
it In detaching the nerves that carry pain
full sensations and tying them to Others
whose purposes are peaceful the several por-
tions of the latter must, Of course be taken
care of. Without great care this process
may result in >erious confusion. if not in
grave unpleasantness While it would be
cause or rejoicing il a nerve, bent on prp
du, ing twings # the gout, could be balke'
of its purpose and compelled to content itSel:
with a mere wink or nod, it would be seri-
Gus mai ter If the nerve, whose ord nary vo-
cation is to attend t. harmless winking and
nodding, should find itself compelled by its
new associations to go into the pain-produc-
ing business Yet it is inevitable that such
results should follow from an imperfect COM
prehension of the new method. Perhaps it
is just as we'll Otherwise the doctors who
are entitled to so much credit in the premises
might find heir services dispensed with al
together too speedily.
The grandest promise of the new discovery
lies in its application to the reformation OF
criminals The prison surgeon of the future
called TO examine the convict just sentenced
will ascertain what his crimA is and the