Abstract
The so-called vegetative or autonomous peripheral nervous system, which consists of the vagus and the sympathetic, has been subjected to systematic investigation only recently. While numerous contributions have been made to the knowledge of the functions of this system, we are yet far from a clear understanding of its structure and mode of action. The ideas of Eppinger and Hess1 concerning vagotony and sympatheticotony are well known, but a few points may be discussed. We know that the vegetative nervous system consists of the vagus and the sympathetic, that they are antagonistic in most cases, holding each other normally in equilibrium, and that there are a number of substances which act as irritants or as paralyzers of these nerves. Thus pilocarpin irritates, atropin paralyzes the vagus, while epinephrin irritates the sympathetic, definite sympathetic paralyzers not being known. The antagonistic relation between the sympathetic and the vagus results, generally speaking, in

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