XVII.—The Development of the Autonomie Nervous Mechanism of the Alimentary Canal of the Bird

Abstract

Concerning the development of the ganglia and plexuses in the intestine, various theories have from time to time been formulated. The older writers, among whom were Remak (1, 2), Götte (5), Balfour and Foster (6), assumed that they had a mesoblastic origin, were formed in situ, and became joined on to the main sympathetic chain at a later date.Later, an ectodermic origin was generally recognised as belonging to the central nervous system, but writers were not agreed as to the origin of the sympathetic. A few, among whom were His (4), Birdsall and Schenk (8), maintained that its origin was, like the central nervous system, ectodermic, but many held the older view that it was a mesoblastic structure.