On outlying nerve-cells in the mammalian spinal cord / by Ch. S. Sherrington.

  • Charles Scott Sherrington
Date:
[1890]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On outlying nerve-cells in the mammalian spinal cord / by Ch. S. Sherrington. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by UCL Library Services. The original may be consulted at UCL (University College London)

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    formation numerous nerve-cells are to be found among the interlacing bands of nerve-fibres. These are often fusiform, but in many cases multipolar; they are for the most part small, but occasional large individuals can be found; the latter would appear always to be multi- polar. Where the lateral column comes into contact with the lateral limb of the substantia gelatinosa of the caput cornu posterioris ganglion-cells can frequently be seen in it. The larger axis of these cells is parallel to the outline of the caput cornu. They seem to exist most numerously in regions, such as the lumbo-sacral, in which medullated fibres, probably posterior root-fibres, sweep through the deeper part of the lateral column round the lateral limb of the gelatinosa as if to reach the base of the posterior horn. In the posterior columns outlying nerve-cells are also to be found, especially in the human cord. In these columns the cells appear to be outstanding members of the posterior vesicular group of Clarke. They are best seen in the upper lumbar and lower dorsal regions. They are large, measuring in some instances 70 /a across. In appearance they closely resemble the cells of Clarke's column. They are nearly always of broadly ovate shape. They appear always to lie on or in close relation to those horizontal bundles of nerve-fibres which curve in a ventro-lateral direction from the depth of the extero- posterior column into the grey matter in the neighbourhood of the posterior vesicular group. The longer axis of the cell is placed parallel to the nerve-fibres it lies upon or among. Where a process from the bipolar cell-body can be followed, it disappears in a direction which is that of the surrounding nerve-fibres. The cell would seem in the majority of cases to lie with its length in a plane at right angles to the long axis of the cord. Frequently the cells lie close to the grey substance of Clarke's column, but in some specimens they occupy positions far removed from the grey matter; they may even lie near the periphery of the extero-posterior column. The chief interest attaching to nerve-cells lying in the white matter of the spinal cord is that they may be supposed to be connected with the nerve-fibres among which they are, and that from that fact some knowledge maybe gained as to the ~ anatomy of themselves, and of the group of which they may be outlying individuals, or of the fibre- bundles containing them. With regard to the cells existing among fibres passing to the white commissure of the cord, it is legitimate to consider their presence as evidence in favour of the view that some of the cells of the median portion of the ventral grey horn are directly connected with medullated fibres passing to or from the opposite half of the cord by way of the anterior commissure. The cells in the lateral column outside the lateral horn may be taken to point to the connection of the intermedio-lateral group of
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