How did Claude Bernard explain the effects of curare on the body?

Claude Bernard, a 19th-century French physiologist, conducted pioneering research on the effects of curare on the body. He demonstrated that the poison induces paralysis and death by specifically attacking motor nerves while leaving sensory nerves unaffected.1

Bernard further refined this understanding by showing that curare blocks transmission between nerves and muscles without directly interfering with nerve conduction or muscle contraction itself. Because of this selectivity, he established that curare could serve as a valuable experimental tool for researchers to differentiate between neuromuscular and primary muscular mechanisms.21