title: Early and late contributions to our knowledge of the autonomic nervous system and its control made by German scientists.
abstract: A summary is given of the German contribution to the development of our knowledge of the autonomic system. Although no major contributions were made in the early centuries and even during and immediately following the Renaissance and the Reformation (1517), there ultimately was a development of strength in the physiological sciences during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries which remained dominant even during the early decades of the twentieth century. Discovery of the inhibitory action of the vagus nerves by the Weber brothers in 1845 and the description of the depressor reflex and the principle of "feedback" by Cyon and Ludwig in 1866 are examples of high attainment in the study of autonomic nervous system physiology. Many of the other discoveries and subsequent development which occurred in Germany are described. The present symposium has demonstrated the present high attainment in this field.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D005858:Germany; D049668:History, 15th Century; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D009482:Neurophysiology / Q000266:history*