Paper, 'Further experimental note on the correlation of action of antagonistic muscles' by Charles Scott Sherrington

Description

Sherrington writes: 'Appropriate excitation of the afferent nerves from the flexor muscles of the knee joint so alters, as I have shown, the condition of the extensor muscles of that joint that the reaction called the “knee jerk” becomes no longer elicitable. I have endeavoured to examine the quality of the alteration which thus restrains or abolishes the “jerk.” It must be remembered that there is some variance of opinion as to the nature of the jerk itself. In the opinion of some authorities the jerk is of reflex nature (Bowditch, Lombard, Senator, Warren); in the opinion of others it is not truly reflex, but is a direct muscular reaction, intimately dependent, however, on a reflex tonus in the muscle (Tschiriew), or on a spinal influence reflexly exerted, but not necessarily identical with “tonus” nor necessarily measurable by tonicity (Waller).'

Annotations in pencil and ink.

Subject: Physiology

Received 15 April 1893 / 19 April 1893. Read 4 May 1893. Communicated by Michael Foster.

A version of this paper was published in volume 53 of the Proceedings of the Royal Society as 'Further experimental note on the correlation of action of antagonistic muscles'.

Reference number

PP/21/11

Earliest possible date

1893

Physical description

Ink and graphite pencil on paper

Page extent

23 pages