176 



THE TISSUES. 



tissue found between the muscle-fibers endo- and perimysium. It 

 attains its greatest diameter in the equatorial region of the nerve 

 end-organ, and becomes narrower again at its distal end, where it 

 may end in tendon or become continuous with the connective tissue 





Fig. 143. Intrafusal muscle-fiber from neuromuscular nerve end-organ of rabbit : 

 A, From proximal polar region ; B } equatorial region ; C, distal polar region. 



of the muscle. Immediately surrounding the intrafusal fibers is found 

 another connective -tissue sheath known as the axial sheath, and 

 between this and the capsule there is found a lymph-space bridged 

 over by trabeculse of fibrous tissue, to which the name periaxial 

 lymph-space has been given. (Fig. 144.) 



By degenerating the motor nerves going to a muscle, Sherrington 



lr^->'" v 'Sv "--"' 

 life^^ft' '- .- 



Fig. 144. Cross-section of a neuromuscular nerve end-organ from interosseous (foot) 

 muscle of man ; fixed in formalin and stained in hematoxylin and eosin. 



determined that the nerve-fibers ending in the neuromuscular nerve 

 end-organs were sensory in character. The manner of termination in 

 these end-organs of the nerve-fibers ending therein has been studied 

 by Kerschner, Kolliker, Ruffini, Huber and DeWitt, Dogiel, and 



