Cutting all the nerves leading to the pancreas did not prevent it from working. This led to the discovery that the small intestine lining secreted "secretin", under the influence of scomath acid. Starling and Bayliss had discovered that it was possible for chemical messages as well as nerve messages to exist in the body. This finding laid the foundation for the study of hormones in the body.
A visual chronology of Asimov's ~1500 scientific inventions and discoveries.
