Regeneration of nerves / by F.W. Mott, W.D. Halliburton and Arthur Edmonds.
- Frederick Walker Mott
- Date:
- [1906]
Licence: In copyright
Credit: Regeneration of nerves / by F.W. Mott, W.D. Halliburton and Arthur Edmonds. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![[Reprinted from the Proceedings of the Royal Society, B. Vol. 78] Regeneration of Nerves. By F. W. Mott, M.D., F.R.S., W. D. Halliburton, M.D., F.R.S., and Arthur Edmunds, M.S., B.Sc., F.R.C.S. (Received June 12,—Read June 28, 1906.) [Plate 15.] In 1901 two of us published a paper on Nerve Degeneration,*' a subject which it is almost impossible to study without taking into account the closely- related subject of nerve regeneration. From the microscopic study of the distal portions of divided nerve trunks we arrived at the conclusion that the activity of the neurilemmal cells has some relation to the development of the new nerve-fibres. At an early stage in degeneration they multiply; later they participate with phagocytes in the removal of the broken-up myelin droplets; subsequently they elongate, and, becoming connected end to end, lead to the formation of what some term embryonic nerve-fibres. These three stages are illustrated by some of the microphotographs published in the paper alluded to. (See especially figs. 22, 25, and 27.) We were, however, extremely doubtful whether this appearance really indi- cated the formation of real nerve-fibres capable of conducting impulses, and felt that such incomplete observations could not be considered as serious objections to the view of those who, from Waller onwards, have taught that the axis cylinder is the branch of a nerve-cell which grows towards the periphery. In a preliminary communicationf winch we published two years ago we called special attention to the work of Howell and Hubert on the subject. These observers, who employed both histological and experimental methods of observation, and who noted., as all other writers before and since have done, the neurilemmal activity, arrived at the conclusion that although these peri- pheral structures are active in preparing the scaffolding, the axis cylinder, which is the essential portion of a nerve-fibre, has an exclusively central origin. We further stated that the more work we have done on the subject the more have we become convinced that this view is the correct one. The purpose of this paper is to state more fully the evidence that has led us to this conclusion. * “ The Chemistry of Nerve-Degeneration,” by F. W. Mott and W. D. Halliburton, ‘ Phil. Trans.,’ B, vol. 194, pp. 437—466, 1901. t ‘ Proceedings of the Physiol. Soc.,’ March 19, 1904 ; ‘ Journal of Physiology,’ vol. 31. t ‘ Journ* of Physiology,’ vol. 13, p. 333 1892) ; vol. 14, p. 183 (1893).](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28717272_0005.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
