Licence: In copyright
Credit: The chemistry of nerve-degeneration / F.W. Mott. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.
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![We now come to the phosphorus estimations. Table V.—Cats’ Sciatic Nerves. Weight in nerves grammes of taken. Yield in Phosphorus Animal. Days after section. grammes of per cent, in dry Fresh. Dry. Mg-2P2C7. tissue. Cat 1 Cat 2 Normal 1 1-793 0-620 0-026 1-16 A. 9 1 B. 3 )> 3-297. 1-007 0-035 0-97 P. C. E. 3 days 20 hours 4 . ■ 5 J 1 3-594 1-1247 0-039 0-97 D. 6 J R. 8 1-193 0-379 0-0078 0-57 N. 10 1-185 0-347 0-004 0-32 Q. 13 1-79 0-5145 0-005 0-27 J. 0.5 1-655 0-5315 . tra ces. 0. 27 1-215 0-338 tra ces. W. 29. Right nerve joined spontaneou.sly . 0-478 0-1314 0 0 Left nerve sutured 0-502 0-1375 0 0 H. 44 1-272 0-348 0 0 S. 60. Left nerve not joined 0-505 0-139 0 0 I. F Right nerve, l egeneration beginning 0-393 0-1075 0-0003 0-08 100 106 0-741 0-025 0-93 This table shows that in the early stages of degeneration the amount of phosphorus is not far removed from the norma]. It is on the 8th day, when the Marchi reaction becomes well marked, that the first great drop in the percentage of phosphorus occurs. It continues to diminish and has practically disappeared by the 25th, and absolutely by the 29th day. With signs of commencing restoration of function it reappears, and is near the normal in the last two cats where regeneration had occurred. We have confined our observations to the peripheral parts of the nerves.^' We can now pass on to the histological side of the subject; after which we shall be better able to correlate our facts and draw general conclusions. * Noll {loc. cif.) in some of his experiments examined the central stump of the divided nerve. He was aide to perform some of his work on large animals (horses) and so could obtain sufficient material from the central end for analysis. Corresponding to what is termed “ disuse atrophy ” he found some diminu- tion in the amount of protagon in this region, but the lessening was not so marked as in the peripheral end of the nerve. In the majority of his experiments he estimated protagon, not phosphorus as we have done. He puts the date of disappearance of the phosphorised fat at 28 days. This date and many other of his facts fit in very well with our work. ^](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b24917254_0022.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
