in a general sense, denotes much the same with ASSENT.

CONSENT of Parts, in the animal economy, an agreement or sympathy, whereby when one part is immediately affected, another at a distance becomes affected in the same manner.

This mutual accord or consent is supposed to be effected by the commerce of the nerves, and their artful distribution and ramification throughout the body. The effect is so sensible as even to come under the physician's cognizance: thus, the stone in the bladder, by vellicating the fibres there, will pain and draw them to much into psalms, as to affect the coats of the bowels, in the same manner, by the intermediation of nervous threads, and make a colic there; and also extend their twitches sometimes as far as the stomach, and occasion grievous vomitings: the remedy, therefore, in such cases, is to regard the part originally affected, how remote and grievoussoever may be the consequences and symptoms in other places.

The fifth conjugation of nerves branched to the parts of the eye, the ear, those of the mouth, cheeks, precordia, and parts adjacent, &c., is supposed by naturalists to be the instrument of that particular and extraordinary consent between those parts. Hence it is, that a savoury thing seen or smelled excites the appetite, and affects the glands and parts of the mouth; that a shameful thing seen or heard affects the cheeks with blushes; on the contrary, if it please, it affects the precordia, and excites the muscles of the mouth and face to laughter; if it grieve, it affects the glands of the eyes, so as to occasion tears, and the muscles of the face, putting them into an aspect of crying. Dr Willis, quoted by Mr Derham, imputes the pleasure of kissing, and its effects, to this pair of nerves; which being branched both to the lips and the genital parts, when the former are affected an irritation is occasioned in the latter. See SYMPATHY.