Abstract
In a study of the action of the toxin of B. botulinus upon the living body it was found that the upper and lower neurones of the skeletal motor nerve supply are unimpaired and that there is no disturbance in the spinal reflex arcs of the extremities. There is, however, definite evidence of a blocking of the nerve impulses in the nerves of the non-sympathetic portion of the involuntary nervous system, e.g., the vagus nerve, the chorda tympani and the nervi erigentes. There is indication that this blocking is of a temporary and relatively unstable nature, and that it is not due to organic destruction of the nerve elements.
Cats, dogs and rabbits were used in the experiments.
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