Nervous System (continued).
B. The Peripheral Nervous System.
1. The Spinal Nerves.
Remove the abdominal viscera carefully so as to expose the spinal nerves which are seen as white cords on each side of the vertebral column as follows:—
(a) The first or hypoglossal nerve arising between the 1st and 2nd vertebræ. It runs forwards on the under surface of the head beneath the mylo-hyoid muscle and supplies the tongue. It was noted in the third day's work.
(b) The second and third nerves unite immediately after escaping from the spinal cord to form the brachial plexus, which supplies the muscles of the shoulder, and then extends along the arm.
(c) The fourth, fifth, and sixth nerves are small and supply the muscles and the skin of the body wall.
(d) The seventh, eighth, and ninth nerves run obliquely backwards, the eighth and ninth uniting to form the sciatic plexus, which gives rise to the large sciatic nerve which extends along the thigh, and down the leg. The sciatic plexus also receives a branch from the seventh nerve.
(e) The tenth or coccygeal nerve, which escapes through a small aperture in the side of the urostyle, and is distributed to the walls of the cloaca and urinary bladder. It is connected by a branch with the sciatic nerve. This nerve is frequently small or absent in the Platana.
[In the Frog, the seventh, eighth, and ninth nerves unite to form the sciatic plexus which gives rise to the large sciatic nerve extending along the thigh, and dividing above the knee into the tibial and peroneal nerves to the leg and the foot. The tenth nerve is present.]