TEMPORARY ARREST OF THE CIRCULATION TO THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

Abstract

Some years after Harvey's demonstration¹of the circulation of the blood in 1628, Stenonis²(1667) made the celebrated observation that occlusion of the descending aorta produced paralysis of the hindlimbs of dogs. This was the first recorded observation on the connection between the circulation of blood and neuromuscular function.³Since then a great deal of work has been done on the relationship between blood flow and neural function. In 1858 Brown-Séquard⁴demonstrated that the cerebrum, medulla oblongata, spinal cord and peripheral nerves were affected in that order by temporary interruption of the blood supply, the cerebrum being the most susceptible to damage and the peripheral nerves the least susceptible. Brown-Séquard also showed that the presence of oxygen in the circulating blood was essential to revive nerve tissue which had been temporarily deprived of its blood supply. It appears, then, that arresting the flow of blood to