Note 61 — Chapter II · OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE DEATH OF THE HEART, OVER THAT OF THE BRAIN.

Why are not the cerebral functions disturbed, when water is pushed slowly into the carotids? because there is then mixed with the blood of the artery too small a quantity of water at a time to enable this fluid to have a very evident action on the brain. But if this introduction of water into the mass of blood continues, whatever precaution may be taken, its effects soon show themselves. We have often, in our experiments, introduced a great quantity of water into the veins of an animal, and though much of it passed off by pulmonary transpiration, the arterial blood soon became very aqueous. Now, we have always observed, that in this case, the animals were struck with a kind of stupidity, which evidently indicated a want of action of the brain.