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The Beauty of Geology Art of Geology

Mapping in China Over a Century


Chenyang Li
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Chenyang Li · Liqiong Jia · Xuan Wu Editors

The Beauty of
Geology: Art of
Geology Mapping in
China Over a Century
The Beauty of Geology: Art of Geology Mapping
in China Over a Century
Chenyang Li • Liqiong Jia • Xuan Wu
Editors

The Beauty of Geology: Art


of Geology Mapping in China
Over a Century
Editors
Chenyang Li Liqiong Jia
Development and Research Center of China Development and Research Center of China
Geological Survey (National Geological Geological Survey (National Geological
Archives of China) Archives of China)
Xicheng District, Beijing, P.R. China Xicheng District, Beijing, P.R. China

Xuan Wu
Development and Research Center of China
Geological Survey (National Geological
Archives of China)
Xicheng District, Beijing, P.R. China

ISBN 978-981-13-3785-7    ISBN 978-981-13-3786-4 (eBook)


https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3786-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018966875

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019. This book is an open access publication.
Open Access This book is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction
in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link
to the Creative Commons licence and indicate if changes were made.
The images or other third party material in this book are included in the book’s Creative Commons licence, unless
indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the book’s Creative Commons licence
and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain
permission directly from the copyright holder.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not
imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and
regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed
to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty,
express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been
made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore
Acknowledgment

Thanks go to the “National Geological Data Convergence and Collection” project of China
Geological Survey (grant no. DD20160348) that supported funding to make this atlas a reality.
We would like to thank Mr. Yang Guangsheng, Mr. Shi Junfa, Mrs. Xing Lixia, Mr. Chen Hui,
and Mrs. Liu Yayan, who all come from China Geological Survey, for giving guidance for the
preparation of the atlas. We also would like to express our appreciation to all those who helped
us during the preparation and publication of this atlas. To Mr. Xu Yong, Mr. Zhang Haiqi, and
Mr. Tan Yongjie, Development and Research Center of China Geological Survey, for their
technical support; to Mr. Qiang Xin, Mr. Huang Bing, and Mrs. Zhang Qian, Development and
Research Center of China Geological Survey, for choosing geological maps; and to Mrs. Wang
Xueping and Mrs. Wang Chunning, National Geological Library of China, for selecting hand-­
drawn drawings. We would like to extend our thanks to the calligrapher Kou Kerang and
Chinese Painting & Calligraphy editor Liu Guang, for their art direction.

v
Contents

1 Introduction������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1
Chenyang Li, Liqiong Jia, and Xuan Wu
2 Initiation Period (1914–1934): Geologists’ Artistic Accomplishment
Reflected by Hand-Drawn Maps��������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 3
Chenyang Li, Guo Liu, Ruiyang Yu, Hui Guo, and Fanyu Qi
3 Exploration Period (1935–1953): The First Step Toward
Standardization����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 23
Liqiong Jia, Xiaolei Li, Yuntao Shang, Xuezheng Gao, and Jie Meng
4 Growth Period (1954–1994): Maps Displaying More Information
and Printed in More Standard Way ������������������������������������������������������������������������� 51
Liqiong Jia, Zhaoyu Kong, Xuezheng Gao, Hui Guo, Xiaolei Li,
and Chunzhen He
5 Leaping Forward Period (1995 to Present): Moving into Digital
Mapping and Digital Cartography Era ����������������������������������������������������������������� 103
Xuan Wu, Fanyu Qi, Guo Liu, Yuntao Shang, and Jie Meng

vii
Contributors

Xuezheng Gao Development and Research Center of China Geological Survey (National
Geological Archives of China), Xicheng District, Beijing, P.R. China
Hui Guo Development and Research Center of China Geological Survey (National Geological
Archives of China), Xicheng District, Beijing, P.R. China
Chunzhen He Development and Research Center of China Geological Survey (National
Geological Archives of China), Xicheng District, Beijing, P.R. China
Liqiong Jia Development and Research Center of China Geological Survey (National
Geological Archives of China), Xicheng District, Beijing, P.R. China
Zhaoyu Kong Development and Research Center of China Geological Survey (National
Geological Archives of China), Xicheng District, Beijing, P.R. China
Chenyang Li Development and Research Center of China Geological Survey (National
Geological Archives of China), Xicheng District, Beijing, P.R. China
Xiaolei Li Development and Research Center of China Geological Survey (National
Geological Archives of China), Xicheng District, Beijing, P.R. China
Guo Liu National Geological Library of China/Geoscience Documentation Center, China
Geological Survey, Haidian District, P.R. China
Jie Meng Development and Research Center of China Geological Survey (National Geological
Archives of China), Xicheng District, Beijing, P.R. China
Fanyu Qi Development and Research Center of China Geological Survey (National
Geological Archives of China), Xicheng District, Beijing, P.R. China
Yuntao Shang Development and Research Center of China Geological Survey (National
Geological Archives of China), Xicheng District, Beijing, P.R. China
Xuan Wu Development and Research Center of China Geological Survey (National
Geological Archives of China), Xicheng District, Beijing, P.R. China
Ruiyang Yu Development and Research Center of China Geological Survey (National
Geological Archives of China), Xicheng District, Beijing, P.R. China

ix
Introduction
1
Chenyang Li, Liqiong Jia, and Xuan Wu

In 1916, the first generation of geological graduates entered and hand-drawn sketches from the perspective of art
the China Geological Survey and opened a new era of geo- appreciation.
logical survey in China. Over the past 100 years, generations Based on the development of geological mapping, the
of geologists have made outstanding contributions to the atlas can be divided into four stages: initiation (from 1914 to
geological survey and prospecting for China’s prosperity. 1934), exploration (from 1935 to 1953), growth (from 1954
They measure the ground, search for treasures, explore the to 1994), and leap (from 1995 to present). The atlas system-
earth, and engrave the beautiful mountains and rivers. As atically shows the development and evolution of geological
geologists, they completed many beautiful geological maps mapping in China, and thus explores the development and
with the skill of the painter. These maps carry geological changes of geological survey in the past 100 years. These
information in a scientific way and display a profound artis- maps carry geological information in a scientific way and
tic aesthetics, reflecting the geologists’ good artistic accom- display a profound artistic aesthetics, reflecting the geolo-
plishment, romantic work feelings,and the inheritance and gists’ good artistic accomplishment and romantic work feel-
development of geological spirit from generation to ings, showing the inheritance and development of geological
generation. spirit from generation to generation.
The National Geological Archives of China have col-
lected millions of geological maps, among which the out-
standing works can be called artworks. Hand-drawn drawings
have distinct lines, reasonable composition, elegant colors,
and meticulous painters; computer drawings are rich in con-
tent, bright colors, standard drawing, and exquisite decora-
tion. This atlas has selected more than 100 geological maps.
It integrates artistic, ornamental, and scientific features. With
the development of geological mapping of China in the past
century as the main line, this atlas displays geological maps

C. Li (*) · L. Jia · X. Wu
Development and Research Center of China Geological Survey
(National Geological Archives of China),
Xicheng District, Beijing, P.R. China
e-mail: chenyang@mail.cgs.gov.cn

© The Author(s) 2019 1


C. Li et al. (eds.), The Beauty of Geology: Art of Geology Mapping in China Over a Century,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3786-4_1
2 C. Li et al.

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropri-
ate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence and indicate if changes were made.
The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in
a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statu-
tory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.
Initiation Period (1914–1934):
Geologists’ Artistic Accomplishment 2
Reflected by Hand-Drawn Maps

Chenyang Li, Guo Liu, Ruiyang Yu, Hui Guo, and Fanyu Qi

In 1903, Zhou Shuren (pseudonym is Lu Xun) said in his and English. Most of the maps are regional and mineral geo-
Geological Theory of China: “Observe the national condi- logical maps. Hand-drawn geological map reflects the per-
tions is not a difficult task. There is no home-made precise sonal artistic accomplishment of the geological predecessors.
geological map in its territory and its city of a non-civilized Representing one of the earliest regional geological maps
country.” In 1906, the Complete Map of China’s Mineral collected by the National Geological Archives of China
Resources compiled by Gu Lang and Zhou Shuren is the ear- (NGAC), this sketch depicts geological conditions in the
liest geological map in China. vicinity of Mt. Dongting. The sketch’s lines are distinct, and
From 1913 to 1919, Zhang Hongzhao, Ding Wenjiang, its gouache colors elegant. The paper is thin. The content of
and Weng Wenhao, the founders of China’s geological cause, the sketch is simple, with legends and scale but no compass
led the teachers and students of China Geological Survey to rose. The text that accompanies the map was written by
carry out geological and mineral survey and mapping work Chinese writing brush (Fig. 2.1).
in Beijing Xishan, Hebei Province, Shangdong Province and In 1914, Ding et al. traveled to Yunnan, Guizhou, and
other places. They successively compiled geological maps of Sichuan provinces and other destinations to conduct geologi-
various scales, such as the Geological Map of Xishan, cal surveys. During the expedition, they compiled several
Beijing. In the 1920s, three 1:1 million geological maps were geological maps and profiles as well as geological maps of
compiled and published: 1:1 million China Geological Map mining areas in Guangxi and Shandong provinces, pioneer-
and Instructions (Beijing-Jinan Sheet), 1:1 million China ing the development of geological mapping through field
Geological Map and Instructions (Taiyuan-Yulin Sheet), and surveys in China (Figs. 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 and 2.5).
1:1 million China Geological Map and Instructions This geological map of an iron ore deposit was drawn by
(Nanjing-Kaifeng Sheet). In the initial stage, geological pre- prominent Chinese geologist Hongzhao Zhang on thin, light
decessors compiled many representative geological maps of paper with colors in gouache. The content of the map is sim-
great significance, which laid the first foundation for future ple, the lines are distinct, and its colors are vivid. A legend,
geological mapping in China. scale, and compass rose are included (Fig. 2.6).
At this stage, geological maps are almost hand-painted, These sketches depict ancient creatures in natural light
with relatively simple lines, and mostly monochrome; poly- using dark lines and rich textures (Fig. 2.7).
chromatic maps were painted mainly with watercolor pig- The histograms were drawn by Weng Wenhao, one of the
ments, and the used paper was light and rough. There is no earliest modern Chinese geologists. The drawings are ele-
standard for geological mapping, and the scale is mostly a gant, precise, and detail-oriented. The yellowed paper pos-
written description, many of which are bilingual, in Chinese sesses old-fashioned charm (Fig. 2.8).
Details are properly portrayed with smooth lines. Large
areas of blank space and rolling hills highlight the map’s
C. Li (*) · R. Yu · H. Guo · F. Qi theme. The steadily rising gentle terrain on the left of the
Development and Research Center of China Geological
map recalls the mystical atmosphere of a scroll painting of
Survey (National Geological Archives of China),
Xicheng District, Beijing, P.R. China rivers and mountains. The sophisticated narrative technique
e-mail: chenyang@mail.cgs.gov.cn makes the viewer feel as though a complex story has sud-
G. Liu denly broken off, filling the plain picture with rhythmic ten-
National Geological Library of China/Geoscience Documentation sion. Rather than a geological profile, the map is more like a
Center, China Geological Survey, painting of a long expanse of rivers and mountains (Fig. 2.9).
Haidian District, P.R. China

© The Author(s) 2019 3


C. Li et al. (eds.), The Beauty of Geology: Art of Geology Mapping in China Over a Century,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3786-4_2
4 C. Li et al.

Fig. 2.1 Geological sketch map of Mt. Dongting, Wuxian County, Jiangsu Province [1]

This is the first geological map on a 1:100,000 scale that This map depicts the distribution of lead, copper, gold,
was independently surveyed and mapped by Chinese asbestos, sulfur, and pyrite in Xikang District (now the
­geologists. It was published in 1920 as the first supplemen- Yajiang area of Sichuan Province). The map is mainly drawn
tary issue of “Geological Special Report,” the first regional with delicate and smooth lines, which are mainly green con-
geological monograph written by Chinese geological scien- tour lines, partially supplemented by red lines and blocks in
tists (Fig. 2.12). blue, yellow, red, etc., with a neat and forceful calligraphy of
This is the first geological map of a large region with stan- regular script in small characters. These characteristics com-
dard sheet division (1:1,000,000) compiled by Chinese geol- bine to lend the map an antique allure (Fig. 2.15).
ogists. One of the three small-scale geological maps with The lines on the maps are elegant, smooth, precise, and
standard sheet division, it was completed under the supervi- clean, and the colors are bright and distinct. The frames of
sion of Wenhao Weng, the acting director of the China the maps are uncluttered (Fig. 2.16).
Geological Survey during 1921–1924, and of substantial This schematic diagram of the production method of a
strategic significance (collection of the National Geological potter’s wheel is rendered concisely with adequate detail.
Library of China) (Fig. 2.13). The simple light effects and indicators on the drawing make
In this map, the contours, strata, and rock properties of a the production process easily understood (Fig. 2.17).
terrain in Anhui Province are depicted using single red lines. This map is based on geological surveys by Li Siguang
The lines are dense in the right part of the map but sparse in and exquisitely drawn in harmonious colors (Fig. 2.18).
the left part and show the effect of relative concentration and This sketch depicts the distribution of outcrops of copper
partial sparseness, which generate an appealing contrast and the formation of rock strata in Daye, Hubei Province
(Fig. 2.14). (Fig. 2.19).
2 Initiation Period (1914–1934): Geologists’ Artistic Accomplishment Reflected by Hand-Drawn Maps 5

Fig. 2.2 Geological map of eastern Yunnan [2]. (Source: China’s first field geological map)
6 C. Li et al.

Fig. 2.3 Generalized section through eastern Yunnan by V.K. Ting [3]. (Source: China’s first field geological map)
2 Initiation Period (1914–1934): Geologists’ Artistic Accomplishment Reflected by Hand-Drawn Maps 7

Fig. 2.4 Geological map of Dachang, Guangxi Province [4]. (Source: China’s first field geological map)
8 C. Li et al.

Fig. 2.5 Geological map of coalfield of Yixian, Shandong Province [5]. (Source: China’s first field geological map)
2 Initiation Period (1914–1934): Geologists’ Artistic Accomplishment Reflected by Hand-Drawn Maps 9

Fig. 2.6 Geological map of iron ore deposit in Xibei Township, Fanchang County [6]
10 C. Li et al.

Fig. 2.7 Sketches of ancient creature’s fossils [7]


2 Initiation Period (1914–1934): Geologists’ Artistic Accomplishment Reflected by Hand-Drawn Maps 11

Fig. 2.8 Histograms attached


to report on Boyangjian mine,
Leping County, Jiangxi
Province [8]
12 C. Li et al.

Fig. 2.9 Geology and mineral deposits map of Mt. Huitou (Part II) [9]
2 Initiation Period (1914–1934): Geologists’ Artistic Accomplishment Reflected by Hand-Drawn Maps 13

Fig. 2.10 Geological map of Fengjiang coal mine in Yugan County, Jiangxi Province [10]
14 C. Li et al.

Fig. 2.11 Geological map of Boshan coalfield in Zichuan County, Shandong Province [11]
2 Initiation Period (1914–1934): Geologists’ Artistic Accomplishment Reflected by Hand-Drawn Maps 15

Fig. 2.12 Geological map of Mt. Xishan, Beijing [12]


16 C. Li et al.

Fig. 2.13 Chinese geological map (1:1,000,000): Beijing-Jinan areas and brochure [13]
2 Initiation Period (1914–1934): Geologists’ Artistic Accomplishment Reflected by Hand-Drawn Maps 17

Fig. 2.14 Coalfield geological map of Shuidong Township, Xuancheng County, Anhui Province [14]
18 C. Li et al.

Fig. 2.15 Geological mineral map of eastern part of Xikang District [15]
2 Initiation Period (1914–1934): Geologists’ Artistic Accomplishment Reflected by Hand-Drawn Maps 19

Fig. 2.16 Two geological maps of Danba, Taining, and Zhanhua Counties, Xikang District [16]

Fig. 2.17 Production method of potter’s wheel [17]


20 C. Li et al.

Fig. 2.18 Geological map of Longtan [18]

Fig. 2.19 Geological sketch of Yangxin copper mine, Daye, Hubei Province [19]
2 Initiation Period (1914–1934): Geologists’ Artistic Accomplishment Reflected by Hand-Drawn Maps 21

Fig. 2.20 Geological profile of the area from the northwest of Mt. Wuyin to Yansi, Longquan County [20]

11. Tan Xichou. Geological map of Boshan Coalfield in Zichuan


References County, Shandong Province. 1919. doi: https://doi.org/10.12063/
data.B.2018.NGA0597.T1.1.1.
1. Anonymous. Geological sketch map of Mt. Dongting, Wuxian 12. Ye Liangfu, Wang Zhuquan, Xie Jiarong, Liu Jichen, Xu Yuanmo,
County, Jiangsu Province. 1914. doi:https://doi.org/10.12063/ Tan Xichou, Zhu Tinghu, Lu Zuyin, Ma Bingduo, Li Jie, Tong
data.A.2018.NGA0368.T1.1.1. Buying, Chen Shuping, Zhao Rujun. Geological map of Mt.
2. Ding Wenjiang. Geological map of eastern Yunnan. 1914. doi: Xishan, Beijing. 1919. doi: https://doi.org/10.12063/data.A.2018.
https://doi.org/10.12063/data.A.2018.NGA7540.T1.4.1. NGA10541.T1.1.1.
3. Ding Wenjiang. Generalised section through eastern Yunnan 13. Tan Xichou, Li Jie, Wang Zhuquan, Nystrom E.T., Andersson
by V.K. Ting. 1914. doi: https://doi.org/10.12063/data.A.2018. J.G. Chinese geological map (1:1,000,000): Beijing-Jinan areas and
NGA7540.T1.9.1. Brochure. Beijing, China Geological Survey, 1924.
4. Ding Wenjiang. Geological map of Dachang, Guangxi prov- 14. Wang Hengsheng, Li Chunyu. Coalfield geological map of
ince. 1914. doi: https://doi.org/10.12063/data.A.2018.NGA7540. Shuidong Township, Xuancheng County, Anhui Province. 1929.
T1.21.1. doi: https://doi.org/10.12063/data.B.2018.NGA2753.T1.1.1.
5. Ding Wenjiang. Geological map of coalfield of Yixian, Shandong 15. Tan Xichou, Li Chunyu. Geological mineral map of eastern part of
province. 1916. doi: https://doi.org/10.12063/data.B.2018. Xikang District. 1930. doi: https://doi.org/10.12063/data.C.2018.
NGA7540.T1.46.1. NGA2729.T1.1.1.
6. Zhang Hongzhao. Geological map of iron ore deposit in Xibei 16. Tan Xichou, Li Chunyu. Two geological maps of Danba, Taining,
Township, Fanchang County. 1915. doi: https://doi.org/10.12063/ and Zhanhua Counties, Xikang District. 1930. doi: https://doi.
data.C.2018.NGA2091.T1.2.1. org/10.12063/data.A.2018.NGA2729.T1.3.1.
7. Chen Shuping. Sketches of Ancient Creature’s Fossils. 1915. doi: 17. Hou Defeng. Production method of potter’s wheel. 1931. doi:
https://doi.org/10.12063/data.O.2018.NGA9404.T1.2.1. https://doi.org/10.12063/data.O.2018.NGA7675.T1.8.1.
8. Weng Wenhao. Histograms attached to report on Boyangjian 18. Li Siguang, Zhu Sen. Geological map of Longtan. 1932. doi:https://
Mine, Leping County, Jiangxi Province. 1916. doi: https://doi. doi.org/10.12063/data.O.2018.NGA4213.T1.1.1.
org/10.12063/data.A.2018.NGA0388.T1.1.1. 19. Zhu Xiren, Ji Rongsen. Geological sketch of Yangxin Copper
9. Liang Jin. Geology and mineral deposits map of Mt. Huitou (Part Mine, Daye, Hubei Province. 1944. doi: https://doi.org/10.12063/
II). 1916. doi:https://doi.org/10.12063/data.C.2018.NGA0882. data.C.2018.NGA3620.Z1.19.1.
Z1.15.1. 20. Anonymous. Geological profile of the area from the northwest
10. Weng Wenhao. Geological map of Fengjiang Coal Mine in Yugan of Mt. Wuyin to Yansi, Longquan County. 1934. doi: https://doi.
County, Jiangxi Province. 1916. doi:https://doi.org/10.12063/ org/10.12063/data.O.2018.NGA1150.Z1.10.1.
data.B.2018.NGA0402.T1.1.1.
22 C. Li et al.

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropri-
ate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence and indicate if changes were made.
The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in
a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statu-
tory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.
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condition. Quinine, belladonna, aconite, and turpentine in full doses
should be thoroughly tried, and special reference had to the
periodicity of the seizures.

Frequent and extensive but superficial counter-irritation (actual


cautery, blistering, ether, or chloride of methyl) is in place in this
stage, and galvanism (constant current) is often of great service. It is
probable that for the acute stage the prolonged use of mild currents
is the best, whereas in more chronic cases the stronger, even very
strong, currents, brought to bear as accurately as possible upon the
nerve itself, are sometimes more useful.

Hydropathic treatment is in great repute both for acute and chronic


cases, but as success in this way demands care and knowledge, the
reader is referred to the special treatises.

In cases of long standing the continued application of ice-bags along


the length of the limb for days together is often of excellent service,
but this method of treatment is not without its dangers and needs to
be carefully watched.

In chronic cases deep injections are of service, and nerve-stretching


(see above) is in place.

THE VISCERAL NEURALGIAS have not received the attention which is


due them both on account of their intrinsic importance and their
constitutional significance. Not only are they found in common with
the superficial neuralgias in the overtired and the underfed, but they
point more strongly than the latter to the neuropathic diathesis,
alternating with such symptoms as migraine, asthma, nervous
dyspepsia, and insomnia. They occur also in the gouty and among
the neuropathic descendants of the gouty, and as a result of
functional and organic disorders of the viscera.

The pain of these neuralgias, though usually described as vague, ill-


defined, dull, etc., yet often stirs the nervous system to its depths,
causing nausea, faintness, sweating, prostration, reflex disorders of
the secretions, and like symptoms.
ANGINA PECTORIS is a neuralgia probably of the pneumogastric and
sympathetic nervous apparatus of the heart. The pain, which is
usually of a heavy, dull, oppressive, or tearing character, and
capable of rising to intense agony, is usually deep-seated, and felt to
the left of the sternum and beneath the breast, often involving the left
arm and side, and occasionally the left side of the face and neck,
and even the leg of the same side or the right arm. It may also, as
the writer has seen, be confined to the sternal region. In the case
referred to this pain recurred every afternoon and evening with great
regularity. Sometimes instead of pain the arm may be the seat of a
tingling numb sensation only.

During the attacks the action of the heart may continue unchanged,
or it may become slow and feeble or intermittent, yet without
necessarily being the seat of organic disease. The onset of anginic
attacks is usually, but by no means always, sudden, and their
duration is commonly short. All the features of the attack, however,
are subject to considerable variation, and nervous symptoms of a
variety of kinds, which it is not necessary to detail, may precede or
attend the seizure. In severe attacks the patient's anguish and
prostration are extreme; the face and extremities become pale and
cold, and a cold sweat breaks out.

In a large proportion of cases, especially the severest ones, these


neuralgic attacks are associated with organic disease of the heart or
blood-vessels.

A variety of causes have been suggested to account for the


seizures, prominent among which is a widespread contraction of the
arterioles, bringing a sudden strain upon the left ventricle of the
heart. This theory is especially noteworthy because of the success
which has attended the treatment by nitrite of amyl, which brings on
a rapid vascular relaxation. In other cases spasm of this kind is
manifestly absent. Fraenkel41 has recently defended the view that a
momentary paralysis and over-distension of the left ventricle is the
exciting cause. In other cases all sign of arterial or cardiac disease is
and remains absent.
41 Zeitschr. für klin. Med., 1882.

In this latter group the tendency to the attacks may cease under
appropriate hygienic treatment. Thus, in an instance known to the
writer a lady of usually good health suffered for several months from
slight attacks of præcordial pain, with pain or a sense of numbness
in the left arm, and often a feeling of breathlessness on very slight
exertion. This condition had manifestly been brought about by
prolonged physical and mental strain, and disappeared completely
after a period of rest. Other such cases are described by Anstie,
Allbutt,42 and others.
42 London Lancet, 1884, i.

In judging of the significance of anginic attacks in a given case the


signs of circulatory disease should first be studiously sought, and
especially, as more likely to escape notice, indications of cardiac
enlargement or weakness, or of increased vascular tension, or of
chronic nephritis.

Dull pains in the intervals of the attacks are also regarded as


important, as indicating the presence of neuritis of the cardiac
nerves, which without doubt often exists. On the other hand, as
pointing rather to a neurotic origin of the symptoms, a tendency,
individual or inherited, to neuralgias of other forms, to asthma,
migraine, and the other neuroses, is to be looked for.

Heredity plays a certain part in the etiology, and among the special
causes of the non-organic form abuse of tobacco is said to be
important.

The TREATMENT would be likely, of course, to be widely different


according to the nature of the case, being on the one hand
addressed to the circulatory apparatus, on the other to the health of
the nervous system, in both cases following well-known lines.

In the treatment of the individual attacks the diffusible stimulants and


the narcotics are of value when there is time to employ them. With
regard to nitrite of amyl and the longer-acting nitro-glycerin, which
have given so much relief in some cases, it would be premature to
confine their use to the cases of demonstrable vascular spasm or
even organic disease, and they are fair agents for trial in the
apparently non-organic cases as well.

A patient of Romberg's used to get great relief from swallowing


pieces of ice.

When the attacks are long continued or frequent, electricity, either as


galvanism or by the wire brush, is applicable, and also counter-
irritation over the chest, even by vesication.

GASTRALGIA (syns. gastrodynia, cardialgia, gastric colic, cramp of the


stomach, etc.) may be associated with organic disease of the
stomach or may occur as an independent neurosis. It is met with in
individuals and families in which asthma, migraine, gout, etc. are
found. In general it is common in persons of nervous, mobile
temperament, and is moreover apt to point to temporary exhaustion
from some cause, though this is by no means always true. The writer
has seen several sensory disorders of this class at the period of life
of which the menopause is the chief feature. The pains of apparently
hypochondriacal patients doubtless belong sometimes in this group.

The pain of gastralgia is felt primarily at the epigastrium, whence it


may radiate upward and backward along the œsophagus and
through into the back, as well as laterally in various directions. Allbutt
says that it is sometimes associated with anginiform attacks.

Other associated symptoms are dyspnœa, prostration, faintness,


coldness of the extremities, or reflex changes in the action of the
heart, which may beat feebly, rapidly, and irregularly, or more slowly
than normal.

Apropos of the relation of gastralgia to organic disease, it is


important to recall the fact that some of the organic diseases of the
stomach, notably chronic ulcer and cancer, may fail to reveal their
presence by any physical sign. In a case seen by the writer a
cancerous growth had invaded the entire stomach, causing an
enormous thickening of its walls, yet no tumor was to be felt, and the
most marked symptoms were gastralgia and exhaustion.

The relations of gastralgia to the other purely functional disorders of


the stomach are interesting and peculiar. It is beyond a question that
every variety of digestive disorder, from simply delayed and painful
digestion to pyrosis, the formation of gas, and constant vomiting, is
much more often of purely neurotic origin than has been supposed.

The DIAGNOSIS of catarrhal gastritis as distinguished from nervous


dyspepsia is indeed often difficult or even impossible. Leube has
recently recorded a case where the matter vomited during life
contained fungoid growths, such as are usually considered
pathognomonic of gastritis, and yet at the autopsy the mucous
membrane appeared perfectly healthy.

With these nervous disorders of digestion, which are by no means


confined to hysterical patients, gastralgia may be variously
associated, or it may occur independently of them all, or vice versâ.
On the other hand, digestion may be attended with a sense of
discomfort, often amounting to severe pain, yet without regular
outbreaks.43 This symptom is classified by Allbutt as a
hyperæsthesia of the stomach rather than as a neuralgia, but from
this to true gastralgia there is only a sliding scale of difference.
Sometimes a persistent neuralgic habit is set up by a local disorder
which itself passes away entirely.
43 Allbutt, loc. cit.

TREATMENT.—In acute attacks the aim is simply to relieve pain by


whichever of the well-known methods promises the best. The real
field for thought and care is in the treatment of the underlying states
—first, those which, like gout, anæmia, syphilis, or nervous debility,
predispose to the attacks; second, the local or special conditions
which act as exciting causes. Sometimes it will be found that such
patients have special idiosyncrasies with regard to the nature of food
or time of meals.
In that condition of the system which is indicated by frequent or
paroxysmal excess of uric acid in the urine a long-continued use of
Vichy water or lithia is sometimes of service. If it be finally concluded
that the stomach is in an hyperæsthetic, not in an inflamed,
condition, it may not be advisable to diminish the amount of food,
but, on the contrary, by one means or another, to increase it.

NEURALGIA OF THE UTERUS AND OVARIES.—Attention has repeatedly


been called to the fact that affections of these organs may excite
neuralgias in distant parts of the body or in the lumbo-abdominal
nerves; but besides these the uterine and ovarian nerves themselves
sometimes are the seat of neuralgia, and it is claimed that
menorrhagia and metrorrhagia may occur as a consequence.

The other abdominal organs and the testis are occasionally the seat
of neuralgic pains, and attacks which involve the liver may be
followed by swelling of the liver and by jaundice.

It is not always easy to assert with confidence whether an attack of


abdominal neuralgia affects the external or the visceral nerves.

NEURALGIA OF THE ANUS AND RECTUM is a well-marked and painful


affection, and the tendency to it may be hereditary. The seizures
themselves may come on spontaneously, especially after fatigue, or
may be excited by slight irritations, such as the passage of hardened
feces, or may follow seminal emissions. The pain may be
accompanied by quick, clonic spasm of the perineal muscles.

The rapid injection of hot water into the rectum often at once relieves
the attack.

We have not space to discuss at length the neuralgiform affections


of the joints and muscles and those due to the metallic poisons and
other causes which do not follow the course and distribution of
special nerves.
In accordance with the belief which we have expressed, that
neuralgic attacks are not always of the same nature, but are the
manifestations of many different conditions, we should be inclined to
include many of these irregular affections under the neuralgias
instead of classifying them apart, as Anstie and most writers have
done. Thus, a patient of the writer, a gentleman of middle life, who
has had migraine since childhood and belongs to a neuropathic
family, suffers on the slightest exertion from violent pain in both
thighs, which comes on very gradually, beginning at the knees and
spreading upward, eventually passing away after a night's rest. One
might diagnosticate this as myalgia if he confined himself to
topographical considerations, but the history of the patient and the
regular march of the attacks point to a different conclusion.

VASO-MOTOR AND TROPHIC NEUROSES.

BY M. ALLEN STARR, M.D., PH.D.

DEFINITION.—In the term vaso-motor and trophic neuroses it is


intended to include a number of forms of disturbance of circulation
and nutrition which are caused by disorders of the nervous system.
Such disturbances may occur in any part of the body. They are not to
be regarded as distinct diseases, but rather as symptoms of lesions
in the peripheral or central nervous system. They may present
themselves in various forms, as hyperæmia or anæmia or instability
of vascular tone, as atrophy or hypertrophy or disintegration of
normal tissue. Their consideration cannot, however, be assigned to
any previous department of this volume nor relegated to various
divisions of it; partly because in some cases they are to be traced to
lesions of the sympathetic system, not elsewhere considered; partly
because of our ignorance as to the exact location in many cases of
the lesion of which they are manifestations.

It is probable that at a future time this chapter will disappear from a


system of medicine, as the chapter on ascites has disappeared, and
that the symptoms under consideration will be distributed among
various departments as symptoms of ascertained lesions in various
organs. For the present, however, they demand a separate
discussion.

It is not possible to distinguish accurately in all cases between the


vaso-motor and the trophic neuroses, for while in many features they
are distinct, in a large proportion of cases they occur together. But it
is not possible to ascribe all trophic changes to vascular disturbance,
nor all vaso-motor changes to a defect or excess of trophic action.
Hence a separate consideration of these allied subjects must be
given. It is always to be remembered, however, that each may give
rise to the other, and that in their pathology they are closely
connected. Vaso-motor disturbances manifest themselves (1) by a
dilatation of the vessels, producing redness, heat, and rapid
metabolism in the part affected; or (2) by a contraction of the
vessels, causing pallor, coldness, and malnutrition; or (3) by an
alternation of these conditions and consequent temporary
disturbance of function. Trophic disturbances may occur in
consequence of such increase or decrease of blood-supply, or
independently of any vascular change, causing (1) an abnormal
production of tissue in an organ, or (2) a decrease in the size and
number of its constituent cells, or (3) an actual degeneration of the
elements which make it up, after which their place may be taken by
another kind of tissue. Under all these circumstances the function of
the part affected will be disturbed, and symptoms will be produced
which will vary with the tissue or organ involved. Hence a general
consideration of these symptoms must be given. Before proceeding
to a detailed consideration of these neuroses it is necessary to
review the physiology of the vaso-motor and trophic systems, in
order to make clear the manner in which they perform their functions.
And inasmuch as the pathology of these affections is best
understood by comparison with experimental lesions made by
physiologists in investigating their function, it will be treated together
with their physiology.

Vaso-motor Neuroses.

FIG. 56.
Vaso-motor Nerves and Ganglia accompanying the Arterioles in a Frog
(Gimbert): C, arterioles; N, vaso-motor nerve; G, ganglion, from which
nerves issue, situated at the point of anastomosis of several capillaries;
R, fibre of Remak.

PHYSIOLOGY.—Local Vascular Tone.—Since changes in the force and


frequency of the heart's action, and variations in the total amount of
blood in the body, affect the body as a whole, the state of circulation
in any one organ or part must be dependent upon the degree of
contraction or dilatation of its own vessels. This is known as the local
vascular tone. It is under the control of a system of nerve-ganglia
with their subservient fibres which are found in the middle coat of all
arterioles (Fig. 56). The energy expended by these ganglia is
manifested by a constant moderate contraction of the circular
muscular coat of the artery—a contraction which is as constantly
opposed by the dilating force of the blood-pressure within the vessel.
An exact equipoise between these two forces never occurs, since
each varies constantly, but in a state of health one never becomes
permanently excessive. Considerable variations, however, in the
local vascular tone are frequently observed. Thus each organ is
influenced to a certain degree by every other, since an increase of
blood in one part must involve a decrease in all other parts, the total
amount of blood in the vessels being constant. Alteration in the
heart's action is felt more quickly in some organs than in others, and
thus the general blood-pressure by its variations may cause
secondarily a disturbance of local vascular tone. The variations now
under consideration, however, are not of this kind. They are such as
are produced by influences acting directly upon the ganglia in the
vessel-walls.

Local irritation is such an influence, and it may excite the ganglia to


increased activity, so producing a contraction of the vessel and
consequent pallor; or it may suspend the action of the ganglia, so
producing a dilatation of the vessel and consequent flushing.

Another influence is irritation acting from a distance and conveyed to


the local ganglia by nerve-fibres. These nerve-fibres can be
distinguished from all others by their structure, being non-
medullated, and by the fact that they have an indirect course,
passing from the central nervous system to the sympathetic ganglia,
and from these to the local ganglia in the vessels. The impulses sent
along these nerves may affect the local ganglia in one of two ways,
and either cause contraction by exciting the ganglia, or dilatation by
inhibiting the action of the ganglia. The result produced has
determined the names given to the impulse, to the fibre transmitting
it, and to the centre whence the impulse proceeds, and hence vaso-
constrictors and vaso-dilators are distinguished from one another.

The history of the development of the sympathetic nervous system,1


as well as its gross anatomy, affords distinct proof that it is not an
independent system, as Bichat supposed, but is closely connected in
its physiological action with the spinal cord and brain. Impulses
which reach the sympathetic ganglia from a distance along the vaso-
constrictor or vaso-dilator fibres originate in the central nervous
system. The nervous mechanism which controls the local vascular
tone is therefore a complex one, consisting not only of the set of
local ganglia connected with larger sympathetic ganglia, but also of
centres in the spinal cord connected with higher centres in the brain.
The brain-centres in turn are complex, consisting of an automatic
mechanism in the medulla regulating the action of all the subordinate
parts below it, and of a series of cortical centres whose function it is
to stimulate or inhibit the medullary mechanism. It therefore
becomes evident that local vascular tone may be modified by local
causes acting on the ganglia in the vessels—e.g. cold or heat; by
changes in the sympathetic ganglia—e.g. the hyperæmia of the face
in lesions of the cervical ganglia; by reflex action through the spinal
cord—e.g. pallor produced by pain; by reflex action through the
medulla oblongata—e.g. glycosuria following sciatica; or by
conscious or unconscious impulses coming from the cortex—e.g. the
blush of shame, the vaso-motor paralysis of hemiplegia.
1 W. R. Birdsall, “Embryogeny of the Sympathetic System,” Arch. of Med., vol. i.
where a bibliography of the subject is to be found.

Vaso-constrictors.—Such a mechanism, however complex in


structure, would be easily comprehended if the constant
manifestation of energy in the maintenance of arterial tone had its
only source in the action of the local ganglia in the vessels, and was
affected only occasionally by impulses from a distance, as has been
thus far supposed. This, however, is not the case, as has been
demonstrated by a series of experiments beginning with the brilliant
researches of Claude Bernard. The classical experiments of the
French physiologist were made upon the sympathetic cord in the
neck of a rabbit. Division of this was found to produce a dilatation of
the vessels of the ear. Irritation of the peripheral end of the divided
cord produced a contraction of the vessels. Division of the spinal
nerves connected with the cervical sympathetic and of their anterior
roots, or irritation of the cut ends, produced effects similar in
character to those caused by division or irritation of the cervical
sympathetic. Destruction of the spinal cord in the lower cervical
region, or division of the cord at any higher level up to the medulla,
was followed by dilatation of the vessels. If the segment of the
divided cord just below the section was irritated the vessels
contracted. Destruction of the medulla at the calamus scriptorius and
above it for three centimeters produced a general dilatation of all the
vessels in the body, but division above this level had no effect. The
initial congestion produced by these various experiments was
accompanied by a rise of temperature in the part. It was followed
after a time by a partial recovery of vascular tone, which was more
complete the farther the division from the local ganglia. These facts
warranted the conclusion that the energy expended by the local
ganglia in holding the vessels in a state of constant moderate
contraction is derived from the central nervous system, primarily
from the automatic centre in the medulla, which in turn is reinforced
by each of the secondary centres in the spinal cord and sympathetic
ganglia; and also that while the medullary centres control the entire
body, the cord and sympathetic centres control only those parts with
which they are especially related. In order, therefore, to the
maintenance of normal vascular tone the local ganglia must be
intact, and they must be in connection with the sympathetic ganglia;
these must be active, and must be connected with the spinal cord;
the cord must be normal, and its tracts from the medulla must be
capable of conduction; the medullary centre must be active, and not
hindered or spurred by cortical impulses of a conscious or
unconscious nature. Any injury to one or more of these parts will
produce a vascular dilatation by interfering with the transmission of
vaso-constrictor impulses from within outward, and any irritation of
one or more of these parts may cause a contraction of the vessels
by increasing the normal stimulus sent to the local ganglia by the
vaso-constrictors.

Vaso-dilators.—The action thus far considered has been wholly of a


vaso-constrictor kind, and the dilatation which has been mentioned
has been due to cessation of the constrictor energy normally passing
outward. This may be termed a passive dilatation. It is the kind
produced by division of any one of the sympathetic ganglia or cords.
But further experiments have shown that another kind of dilatation
may be produced, traceable not to a mere cessation of constrictor
impulses, but to an impulse of a positive kind sent to the local
ganglia and resulting in a sudden suspension of their activity. Such
an impulse is really an inhibitory impulse arresting the action of the
ganglia in spite of the continued stimulus sent to them from the
central nervous system. Its result is a dilatation of the arteries,
produced by the blood-pressure within them, which may be termed
an active dilatation. Thus, Bernard found that irritation of the chorda
tympani caused an immediate flow of blood to the submaxillary gland
because of the dilatation of its vessels. And Dastre and Morat2 have
demonstrated a similar effect in the head and extremities after
irritation of portions of the cervical sympathetic and of the peripheral
nerves.
2 See Archives de Physiologie, “Vaso-dilateurs,” 1879, 1880, 1882; Comptes rendus
de l'Academie des Sciences, 1880, pp. 393 and 441.

Much confusion has arisen from the use of the term active dilatation,
and many explanations of its mechanism have been offered. At first
it was supposed that a system of longitudinal fibres in the vessel-wall
acted as opponents to the circular constrictor fibres. This theory,
originating with Stilling and Duchenne,3 has been lately revived by
Anrep and Cybulski.4 They hold that since a vessel elongates as well
as dilates with every heart-beat, its total distension is the result of
two factors—viz. transverse and horizontal distension. If one of these
is neutralized, they claim that the other will be increased.
Longitudinal fibres in the wall by preventing elongation may thus
allow the entire force of the heart to be expended in dilating the
vessel. This theory has not, however, been accepted, and with that
of Schiff, that contractile elements of the connective tissue
surrounding the vessel-walls could pull outward the walls and thus
dilate the vessel, has lapsed, because of lack of demonstration of
the necessary anatomical structure in all arterioles. Another
theoretical explanation, that dilatation of the arteries is caused by
contraction of the veins damming back the blood, is disproved by the
fact proven by Dastre and Morat, that blood-pressure increases
instead of diminishing in the veins during vaso-dilator action. Legros5
and Onimus,6 noticing the normal occurrence of a peristaltic motion
of centrifugal direction in the arteries of the retina, which if increased
produced a certain degree of hyperæmia, attempted to explain the
phenomena of dilatation by supposing a sudden increase of
peristalsis. But Vulpian has proved that the peristalsis is both too
slight and too slow in its effects to account for the rapid action of the
vaso-dilators, and Dastre and Morat have shown that the peristalsis,
not being synchronous with the heart-beat, really impedes the flow of
blood. The last theory to be mentioned has a chemical basis, and is
known as the theory of attraction (Brown-Séquard, Severini.)
According to this, the organs, when active, manifest increased
metabolism, to maintain which the blood is drawn toward them by
the chemical changes in progress. This theory was based on the fact
that irritation of the chorda tympani causes an increased secretion of
saliva as well as a congestion of the submaxillary gland. It is now
known, however, that these two acts are independent of each other,
as either can be suspended while the other continues. Hence this
theory too has lapsed.
3 Von Recklinghausen, Handbuch der Pathologie des Kreislaufs und der Ernahrung,
1883, where a full bibliography is to be found.

4 St. Petersburg Med. Wochenschrift, 1884, i. 215.

5 Des Nerfs vaso-moteurs, Thèse de Concours, Paris, 1873.

6 Des Congestions actives, Paris, 1874.

The view already stated, that vaso-dilators act by inhibiting local


ganglia which cause contraction, is now accepted, especially since it
is found that such inhibitory activity is constantly displayed by other
parts of the nervous system, and is competent to explain the facts.
The active dilatation produced by the inhibition of the action of the
local ganglia is therefore to be clearly distinguished from the passive
dilatation caused by the cessation of normal tonic impulses sent to
them from higher centres. The former is a positive active vaso-dilator
phenomenon. The latter is a negative paralytic vaso-constrictor
phenomenon. The former is more effective, the dilatation being
greater in degree and more permanent than the latter, and
resembles exactly the dilatation produced experimentally by
exhaustion of the activity of the local ganglia by over-stimulation of
the constrictors.7
7 Goltz, Arch. f. d. gesammt. Physiol., xi. 92.

An important point of contrast which has been established between


vaso-constrictor and vaso-dilator impulses is that while the former
are constant the latter are intermittent. Hence they cannot be
regarded as opponents of one another. In a normal quiescent state
vaso-constrictor energy is always being supplied to counteract the
continued intravascular pressure ever renewed with the cardiac
systole. The vaso-dilators are inactive. In an organ thrown into
functional activity an increased flow of blood at once takes place,
proportionate to the work being done by the organ. Such a functional
hyperæmia might be produced either by a cessation of constrictor
impulses or by an inhibition of their effects. It is by the latter means
and through the vaso-dilators that it is produced, and it is probably
the chief function of the vaso-dilator nerves to regulate the blood-
supply in accordance with the need of a part. For this reason these
nerves have been supposed to pass with the motor nerves to the
muscles. As few organs exist without a possible use, it is probable
that vaso-dilators pass to all parts of the body, as Vulpian asserts,
though they have not been demonstrated in every organ or every
part.

Like the vaso-constrictors, the vaso-dilators can be traced to the


spinal cord, and their centres there are governed by a general centre
in the medulla, which in turn may be affected by impulses from the
cortex. A destructive lesion in any part of the vaso-dilator system
does not produce as marked effects as one involving the vaso-
constrictor system, since the symptoms of such a lesion will only
appear when the vaso-dilators are called into play. When the vaso-
dilator nerve to the submaxillary gland is cut, no change is observed
until by some sapid substance put in the mouth its function should be
excited, when the gland is no longer found to flush with blood as in
the normal state. It is by means of the vaso-dilators that erectile
organs become engorged with blood. Eckhard has shown the nervi
erigentes of the penis to be vaso-dilator nerves. If they are
destroyed, the organs will not respond to the wonted stimulus—a
symptom which, however, would only be noticed at intervals. An
irritative lesion of the vaso-dilator system may produce permanent
congestion of an organ or part, but this seems to be rather more rare
than a congestion from paralysis of the constrictors. It is seen in
injuries of the peripheral nerves.

Origin of the Vaso-motor Nerves.—The exact course of the vaso-


constrictor and vaso-dilator nerves has been traced from various
parts into the central nervous system by the careful experiments of
Dastre and Morat,8 and more recently by Gaskell.9 It is now
established that they exist as separate nerves, although they often
run together, and that they usually enter the spinal cord at different
levels.
8 See Comptes rendus Soc. de Biologie, and Arch. de Physiol., 1879-84.

9 W. H. Gaskell, “On the Structure and Function of the Nerves which Innervate the
Vascular System,” Journ. of Physiol., Jan., 1886.

If the various spinal nerves be cut singly from above downward, and
the effects noted, and if the peripheral ends be irritated and the
effects noted, and if with proper care the results be analyzed and
compared, it will be found that the anatomical connections of the
segments of the spinal cord with the sympathetic ganglia, which are
so evident at each level, are not the ones by which physiological
impulses pass out at that level. The vaso-constrictors of the head,
which can be traced to the superior cervical ganglion, do not come
from the upper cervical region of the cord, as might be supposed
from the connections of that ganglion, but from the first three dorsal
nerves. They reach the ganglion through the sympathetic cord in the
neck, having traversed the inferior cervical ganglion on the way.
There are vaso-constrictors in the cranial cavity which accompany
the third, fifth, seventh, and twelfth nerves to the eye, face, and
mouth. It is still undecided whether they originate in the cord and
medulla, issue in the spinal accessory nerve, and with it enter the
cranium (Gaskell), or reach those nerves by way of the carotid and
vertebral plexus from the inferior cervical ganglion (Dastre and
Morat). The vaso-constrictors of the arm, which can be traced to the
inferior cervical and upper thoracic ganglia and to the thoracic
sympathetic cord, are derived from the seven upper dorsal nerves. It
is true that division of the roots of the brachial plexus causes a slight
dilatation of the vessels of the arm, but this is so much increased
when the dorsal nerve-roots are divided that it is evident that it is
through them that the constrictor fibres chiefly pass. The vaso-
constrictors of the leg, which can be traced into the second and third
lumbar ganglia and lumbar sympathetic cord, are derived from the
five lower dorsal and first lumbar nerves, and only join the crural and
sciatic nerves after passing through the abdominal sympathetic. The
thoracic viscera are probably supplied partly through the branches of
the inferior cervical and thoracic ganglia, and partly through the
pneumogastric, the latter statement being disputed by Gaskell. The
abdominal viscera are supplied partly through the splanchnic nerves,
which are made up of fibres issuing from the cord in the fifth to the
twelfth dorsal nerves inclusive, and partly through the
pneumogastric. Thus the dorsal region of the cord is the origin of the
majority of vaso-constrictor fibres in the body.

The origin of the vaso-dilators is also to be traced to the dorsal cord.


The vaso-dilators of the bucco-facial region come from the second to
the fifth dorsal nerves, whence they pass to the first thoracic
ganglion, and thence by the annulus of Vieussens into the cervical
sympathetic cord. Those of the eye, head, and ear come from the
same ganglion, but have their spinal origin in the eighth cervical and
first dorsal nerves. Those of the arm are traced into the upper
thoracic sympathetic cord, which they reach from the five upper
dorsal and last cervical nerves. Those of the leg are traced to the
first and second lumbar ganglia and the lumbar sympathetic cord,
which they reach from all the dorsal nerves from the sixth downward.
Gaskell holds, however, that the vaso-dilators of the extremities pass
out of the cord in the cervical and lumbar plexuses and accompany
the cerebro-spinal nerves. The vaso-dilators of the thorax and
abdomen are supposed to pass in the pulmonary plexus and
splanchnic nerves, but this is not yet fully determined.

Gaskell10 believes that vaso-motor nerves can be distinguished from


motor and sensory nerves in the spinal nerve-roots by the smallness
of their calibre. He finds such fine fibres only in the spinal nerve-
roots between the second dorsal and second lumbar segments of
the cord (in the dog), and in the three upper roots of the spinal
accessory nerve. According to his account, the vaso-constrictors
issue from the spinal cord in both anterior and posterior nerve-roots
as medullated fibres, and pass to the sympathetic ganglia lying on
the vertebræ (proximal or lateral ganglia); there they lose their
medullary sheath, and either end in cells whence new fibres issue, or
more probably pass directly onward as non-medullated fibres, having
a connection with the unipolar cells of the ganglia only for purposes
of nutrition. The number of fibres issuing from any one ganglion is
much greater than the number entering it from the cord; hence it is
supposed that each medullated fibre splits up into a group of non-
medullated fibres; which is possible, as the researches of Ranvier
have shown that each axis-cylinder is made up of numerous fibrils.
Leaving these ganglia, the nerves pass either to the second series of
ganglia (distal or collateral ganglia), whence they issue in plexuses
to enter the vessels, or to the vessels directly, where they divide in
plexuses. It is in the meshes of the plexus that the local ganglia of
the vessel-walls are found. The vaso-dilators are thought to differ
from the vaso-constrictors in passing directly to the distal ganglia as
medullated fibres, not being connected in any way with the proximal
ganglia. Gaskell makes no statement regarding their limits of origin
from the cord, except to state that the nervi erigentes issue with the
sacral nerves. He agrees with the view that the vaso-dilators act as
inhibitory nerves upon the local ganglia.
10 Journal of Physiology, Jan., 1886.

Vaso-motor Reflexes.—Thus far, reference has been made only to


fibres whose direction of transmission is centrifugal, and whose exit
from the spinal cord is by the anterior nerve-roots. There are other
fibres, however, through which centripetal impulses pass, and these
enter the spinal cord with the posterior nerve-roots. The function of
these fibres is to transmit sensory impulses inward to reflex centres,
and thus set in action motor mechanisms of a vaso-constrictor or
dilator kind whose effects are produced at the periphery. There are,
therefore, vaso-motor reflexes, as well as skin and tendon reflexes,
whose centres are in the spinal cord. These reflex acts may be
excited by impulses reaching the centre not only through the vaso-
motor centripetal nerves, but also through the sensory nerves of the
cerebro-spinal system. The effect of changes of temperature on the
circulation in the skin (if the right hand be plunged in cold water there
is a fall of temperature in the left hand), the effect of pain upon the
color of the face and the size of the pupil, the red cheek on the
affected side in pneumonia, the occurrence of glycosuria during
sciatica,—are all instances of such reflex acts. Many vaso-motor
affections are produced by irritation causing reflex effects at a
distance from the seat of irritation—a fact always to be kept in mind.
The utility of counter-irritation to the surface in diseases of the
internal organs is explained by supposing that vascular changes are
produced in those organs through reflex mechanisms set in action by
the local irritation. While some of these reflexes may have their
central mechanism in the local ganglia, it is probable that the
majority are to be traced to the spinal cord. It is believed that the
sympathetic ganglia are not the seat of reflex centres.

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