Zoology; Practical Volume 2 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1906 edition. Excerpt: ...run a wire down the cavity of the spinal column, to destroy the spinal cord. Cut through the skin around the base of one of the thighs, and strip off the skin from the whole of the limb. Note that the muscles are of a pale color. The muscles of a frog's thigh are nearly the same in number and arrangement as in man. Examine more thoroughly the calf muscle; the end by which it is attached below is its insertion, and the upper attachment is its origin. The white cord in which it ends is its tendon. This tendon is often called the " heel cord," or Achilles' tendon. Sever the limb from the body at the hip joint. Separate the muscles along the outer back part of the thigh, and find the white, threadlike sciatic nerve. The nerve must be handled with great care; it must not be pinched or dragged. Carefully separate it from the surrounding muscles, and turn it down upon the calf muscle. Cut away all the muscles of the thigh, being careful not to touch the nerve where it runs down by the knee. Sever the heel cord below the heel, and separate the calf muscle from the rest of the leg, leaving undisturbed its attachment above; just below the knee cut away the shin bone, with all the muscles of the leg except the calf muscle. There should now remain the thigh bone, with the sciatic nerve running to the calf muscle suspended below. Fasten the thigh bone to some support, such as a clamp on a retort stand. Attach a small hook to the tendon, and suspend from it a slight weight, such as a small key. Such a preparation is called a nerve-muscle preparation. It should frequently be moistened with a.7 per cent solution of common salt in water, called normal saline solution. Now take a sharp pair of scissors, and snip off the shortest possible portion of the upper end...