174 



THE TISSUES. 



after the Golgi method. In company with the large nerve-fibers here 

 mentioned, Sala has described other nerve-fibers, quite independent 

 of them and much finer, which after entering the corpuscle divide 

 repeatedly, the resulting fibers forming a plexus around the central 

 fiber. A small arteriole enters the corpuscle with the nerve-fiber, 

 dividing into capillary branches found between the lamellae of 

 the capsule. 



The Vater-Pacinian corpuscles have a wide distribution. They 

 are numerous in the deeper parts of the dermis of the hand and 

 foot, and also near the joints, especially on the flexor side. They 

 have been found in the periosteum of certain bones and in tendons 

 and intermuscular septa, and even in muscles. They are further 

 found in the epineurial sheaths of certain nerve-trunks and near 



Fig. 141. Pacinian corpuscles from mesorectum of kitten : A, Showing the fine 

 I/ranches on central nerve-fiber ; B, the network of fine nerve-fibers about the central 

 fiber; methylene-blue preparation (Sala, "Anat. Anzeiger," vol xvi). 



large vessels. They are numerous in the peritoneum and mesentery, 

 pleura and pericardium. In the mesentery of the cat, where these 

 nerve-endings are large and numerous, they are readily seen with the 

 unaided eye as small, pearly bodies. 



In the bill and tongue of water birds, especially of the duck, are 

 found nerve-endings, known as the corpuscles of Herbst, which re- 

 semble the Vater-Pacinian corpuscles ; they differ from the latter in 

 having cubic cells in the core. (Fig. 142.) 



Neuromuscular Nerve End-organs. These nerve end-organs 

 consist of a small bundle of muscle-fibers, surrounded by an invest- 



