nervous systemn.

1703 Philos. Trans. 1702–3 (Royal Soc.) 23 1489 Upon waking first the Brain, then the whole Nervous System must fall into contractions.

1726 J. Freind Hist. Physick II. 315 Dr. Willis, the first inventor of the nervous system.

1793 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 83 158 The brain and nervous system are altogether wanting in some, and there are others which have neither heart nor lungs.

1800 H. Davy Res. Nitrous Oxide iv. ii. 499 I soon found my nervous system agitated by the highest sensations of pleasure.

1825 Lancet 8 Oct. 59/1 Man is therefore furnished with a nervous system consisting of brain, spinal marrow, and nerves.

1849 T. Carlyle Let. 2 Sept. in Coll. Lett. T. & J. W. Carlyle (1995) XXIV. 210 Nervous system all ‘dadded about’ by Coach travel.

1901 M. Foster Lect. Hist. Physiol. 275 These animal spirits are prepared in the cerebrum and cerebellum alone, in the cortex of each, and thence diffused over the whole nervous system.

1958 Engineering 4 Apr. 424/1 Automatic data processing (or ADP) is the modern nervous system of corporate bodies.

1960 D. C. Braungart & R. Buddeke Introd. Animal Biol. (ed. 5) viii. 107 The nerve elements described before are derived from the epidermis and constitute what is termed the epidermal nervous system.

1991 Businessweek 30 Sept. 39/2 It's called European Nervous System (ENS), and it's just what the European computer industry needs to chase away a severe case of depression.

1997 R. Porter Greatest Benefit to Mankind xviii. 571 The active chemical principle proved to be acetylcholine, which affected muscle response at certain nerve fibre junctions, and could thus mimic the actions of the para-sympathetic nervous system.