On the pathology of the pneumogastric nerve : being the Lumleian lectures delivered at the Royal College of Physicians of London, 1876 / by S. O. Habershon.

  • Habershon, Samuel Osborne, 1825-1889.
Date:
1877
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the pathology of the pneumogastric nerve : being the Lumleian lectures delivered at the Royal College of Physicians of London, 1876 / by S. O. Habershon. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    reflex irritation of the stomach, so frequently observed in diseases affecting those organs. Numerous experiments have been made by physiolo- gists, illustrating the effect of division of the nerve upon the several organs to which it is distributed. After division, there is loss of sensation in the throat, and foreign substances may pass unheeded into the larynx, a remarkable contrast to the violent spasmodic action produced during the integrity of the nerve ; again, after division, there is loss of power in the throat, and of action in the vocal cord; the glottis is partially closed; and, if life be prolonged, the muscles supplied by the divided nerve become wasted; the action of the heart is impeded, at first it is more frequent, and the force is increased; the pulse is larger, because there is dimi- nished tension in the vessels; the lungs lose their sen- sibility, the movements of the chest-walls are less active, and respiration becomes less frequent, but more deep, till it ceases altogether. The capillaries of the lung become filled with blood; the lung is deprived of air; the mucous membrane is congested, and frothy serum exudes into the air-cells; the nutrition of the part is altered, and inflammatory changes are induced. This inflammation is often found where the pneumogastric is injured by pressure. Where the nerve is divided the cardiac orifice of the stomach does not act, the mucous membrane of the stomach becomes pale, and the secre- tion is for a time checked, whilst, on irritation of the divided central end of the nerve, the colour is restored. A common effect of irritation of the gastric branches of