The production of heat in decerebrate rigity / by W.M. Bayliss.

  • William Bayliss
Date:
[1912?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The production of heat in decerebrate rigity / by W.M. Bayliss. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    muscles in the decerberate Mammal, described by Sherrington’ as that of ‘‘decerebrate rigidity”, presents obvious similarity to that referred to above in the case of smooth muscle. Accordingly, Roaf?, at the suggestion of Sherrington, undertook the estimation of the energy required to maintain the muscles in this state of tonic con- traction. He found that the output of carbon dioxide was no greater during decerebrate rigidity than when the muscles were completely relaxed by administration of curare. | 7 The experiments with which the present paper is concerned were — made in order to see whether any light would be thrown on the | question by the determination of the amount of production of heat in muscles in the condition referred to. The temperature of the muscle was taken to indicate approximately the degree of this production, although it is plain that calorimetric measurements are necessary to obtain quantitative values. The muscles used were the vasto-crureus in the hind-limb of the cat and the triceps in the forelimb. The former muscle was chosen because, as Sherrington has shown?, its tonus can be increased by exciting the central end of the sciatic nerve of the opposite side and decreased or inhibited by exciting the central end of some sensory nerve of the same side. The triceps brachii served better for the investigation of the prolonged tonus, since, under the conditions of my experiments, it was maintained in this muscle to a strong degree for a longer time than in the vasto-crureus. Decerebration was performed in Sherrington’s method under deep chloroform anaesthesia. After the operation, administration of anaesthetic was stopped entirely. The degree of tonus was judged by supporting the humerus or femur in such a way that the distal part of the limb was free to move in front of a divided scale.- | The temperature of the muscle was determined by inserting into it a thermo-electric junction of nickel and iron. The whole limb was then wrapped in cotton-wool. A second similar nickel-iron junction in the opposite direction was immersed in water in a vacuum-jacketed vessel, which also contained a Beckmann thermometer graduated in hundredths of a degree. The temperature in this vessel was raised by i. SHERRINGTON : Journ. of PAysiol., v. XXH, p . 819, 1898. 2. Roar: Proc. Roy. Sec., v. LXXXIII, p. £33, 1910... 3. SHERRINGTON : Integy. Action of the Nervous System., p. 83-413, 1906.
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