Fused Neurons and Synaptic Contacts in the Giant Nerve Fibres of Cephalopods in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, No 564 Vol 229 Series B 25 May 1939

London: Royal Society, 1939. 1st Edition. FIRST EDITION, OFFPRINT ISSUE IN ORIGINAL WRAPS of an "unforgettable contribution to neurobiology" (Wikipedia).

John Z. Young, a pioneering cellular neuroscientist and "one of the most influential biologists of the 20th century," was the first to recognize something that would have revolutionize the treatment of those injured in battle: the ability for regrowth in the damaged nerves of squid and octopi (Lichtman and Sanes, "Translation Neuroscience," Journal of Experimental Biology, 209, 3485-3487).

Young's discovery of the squid giant synapse, the chemical synaptic junction whose activation "triggers the synchronous contraction of the mantle musculature that is responsible for the forceful ejection of a jet stream of water from the mantle" marked the beginning of important biomedical research that would aid in efforts to treat wartime injuries. "Of all the non-fatal injuries that occur in battle, the most disabling are neural because of the limited ability of the human nervous system to regenerate" (Wikipedia; Lichtman and Sanes, "Translation Neuroscience," Journal of Experimental Biology, 209, 3485-3487).

Based on the results put forth in "Fused Neurons," the paper offered here, Young set up a unit at the University of Oxford during World War II, tasking it to study nerve regeneration in mammals and respond, out of that knowledge, "to the large number of nerve injuries sustained by soldiers in combat. His wartime team, investigating the biochemical conditions that control nerve fibre growth, also sought ways to accelerate the repair of peripheral nerves severed by injury. Working with Peter Medawar, Young found a way to rejoin small peripheral nerves using a "glue" of plasma. This method was eventually modified and used in surgery" (ibid). CONDITION & DETAILS: 4to. (12 x 9 inches, 300 x 225mm). Continuously paginated 465-505, [36]. ILLUSTRATIONS: 7 plates and 14 large in-text drawings. EXTERIOR: Bound in original paper wraps with a bit of minor aging. Tightly bound. INTERIOR: Complete. Pristine throughout and in very good condition overall by any measure.