Note 236 — Chapter I · THE PROBLEM STATED.
Reading edition
It is better simply to remove the brain, than to remove the whole head, which causes a serious loss of blood. An etherized animal may be operated on with ease and accuracy. For many experiments, mere division of the spinal cord is better than decapitation. Great variations in the results must be expected, because the condition of the animal, its age and sex—whether fasting or digesting—whether the season be spring or summer—and a hundred other causes, complicate the experiment.