Re: nerve
Joel, The vagus was known as the pneumogastric nerve in the 19th century. Based on the earlier work of Willis in the 17th century and by Cruikshank at the end of the 18th century, who initiated its use in a study of nerve regeneration, it was known that its bilateral section in the neck of dogs and a series of common laboratory animals that death ensued within a few days to at most a few weeks, a number of prominent physiologists of the 19th century; Claude Bernard, Schiff, Reid and others, attempted to determine the cause of death, pointing to an effect on either the lungs or the gastrointestinal system. I discuss this in my forthcoming book "A History of Nerve: From Animal Spirits to Molecular Mechanisms," to be published by Cambridge University Press at the end of April. With regards, Sid Ochs