A collective work and a classic textbook of physiology, edited by Schäfer using the original version of his last name. He was a pupil of Sharpey, and when that great man died without any known descendants Schäfer gave the name to his son, in order to perpetuate it. When Schäfer's son was killed in the war of 1914-1918, Schäfer added it to his own, i.e. Sharpey-Schäfer.

"Of particular interest are the four classic chapters by Charles Sherrington, one on the spinal cord, another on the parts of the brain below the cerebral cortex, yet another on cutaneous sensation, and the fourth on the muscular sense. According to Liddell (1960, p. 135), they were 'unique in the literature of physiology on those topics at the time, for width and accuracy of vision, projected from the past into the future. Now today after more than half a century they are still highly regarded for guidance and refreshment.' Also of great interest are chapters by J.N. Langley on the sympathetic or autonomic nervous system, and by Schäfer himself on the nerve cell and on the cerebral cortex" (Larry W. Swanson).