On the explanation of Stannius's experiment and on the action of strychnia on the heart / by T. Lauder Brunton and Theodore Cash.

  • Brunton, Thomas Lauder, Sir, 1844-1916.
Date:
[1880?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the explanation of Stannius's experiment and on the action of strychnia on the heart / by T. Lauder Brunton and Theodore Cash. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    [Reprinted from St. Bartholomew’s Hospital Reports, Vol. XVI.j I a' ■ ON THE EXPLANATION OF STANNIDS’S EXPERIMENT AND ON THE ACTION OF STRYCHNIA ON THE HEART. BY T. LAUDER BRUNTON, M.D., F.R.S., AND THEODORE CASH, M.D. The remarkable experiment to which Stanuius has given his name consists in applying a ligature around the venous sinus of the frog’s heart, just at the point where it joins the auricles. The > consequence of this is, that the auricles and ventricles at once i cease to beat, and remain in a state of quiescence, lasting for a time varying from a few minutes to half an hour or more, while 1 the venous sinus still continues to pulsate uninterruptedly. A similar result is produced when, instead of applying a ligature round the sinus, the sinus itself is separated from the auricles by an incision. If, however, instead of suddenly removing the whole of the venous sinus from the remainder of the heart, it is gradu- ally removed, the instant stoppage of the auricle and ventricle does not take place. If the ventricle be now separated from the auricle, while the two are remaining in a state of complete quies- cence, the ventricle again commences to pulsate, while the auricle remains perfectly still. Two explanations of these phenomena have been given. The one is that the section or ligature of the heart at the junction of the venous sinus and the auricles excites the inhibitory apparatus in the auricles to such an extent as to prevent both them and the ventricle from moving. This explana- tion, however, seems to be disproved by the fact that the same * result is obtained after the heart has been previously poisoned by atropia, which completely paralyses its inhibitory apparatus, and