ELECTRIC RESPONSES IN THE SUBMAXILLARY GLAND

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The electric responses of the submaxillary gland of the cat to stimulation of the chorda tympani and the cervical sympathetic nerves were recorded. The action of pilo-carpine and atropine was also studied. Single shocks applied to the chorda elicit a complex response in which two components may be distinguished, a quick and a slow. Repetitive stimulation of the chorda produces summation of each of the two components separately. The response to tetanic stimulation may be rhythmic. Single shocks on the sympathetic did not cause any perceptible electrical disturbance. Tetanic stimulation gives a picture similar to that obtained from the chorda. Pilo-carpine produces variable results. The response may be rhythmic. The gland is refractory to nerve stimulation while under the influence of the drug. Moderate doses of atropine, sufficient to paralyze secretion, abolish the quick component of the response to chorda stimulation, while the slow effect persists. Larger doses abolish all electric responses. The electrical phenomena recorded are correlated with the secretory process. An excitatory component probably does not appear in the records. Atropine acts on the effector. The parasympathetic in-nervation of the submaxillary is not an "iterative" system.

This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit: