RESORPTION OF COXCEPTUSES. 



295 



such as presented in the photograph of the cross sections of the 

 villi of this specimen shown in Fig. 5. All that remains of the 

 villi is a spiderlike web, the fibres of which are exceedingly fine 

 but which nevertheless preserves the form of the villi and of the 

 chorionic membrane so perfectly that Mall especially recorded 

 that the external appearance of the chorionic vesicle was normal. 



FIG. 5. Cross-sections of the gossamer villi of No. 606. X 69. 



Since chorionic vesicles devoid of an embryo when examined 

 form about 32 per cent, of those classed as pathologic in the Mall 

 Collection it is evident that absence of the embryo itself is 

 relatively common in early abortuses. It would be incorrect, 

 however, to assume that they had undergone absorption in all 

 these cases. A fine example of one of these empty chorionic 

 vesicles is number 1224, a portion of which is shown in Fig. 6. 

 This specimen was found in an unopened uterus removed at 

 hysterectomy for cervical myoma. The chorionic vesicle, 



