l. r >4 SUMMARY OF CURRENT KESEARCHES RELATING TO 



Epidermic Papillae in Euproctus.* — L. Roule calls attention to the 

 small epidermic protuberances which occur over the body of some Uro- 

 dela, such as Euproctus. and shows that in their structure they may be 

 fairly compared with the hairs of Mammals. 



Study of Nervous Systems. — I). TretjakofrVf gives an account of 

 the minute structure of the spinal cord in the larval lamprey, and com- 

 pares it with that of Amphioxus on the one hand and with that of 

 higher Vertebrates on the other. 



J. Belogolowy $ has studied the development of the cranial nerves in 

 the chick. He describes their histogenesis and discusses their morpho- 

 logical significance. 



"»" 



Peripheral Terminations of Eighth Cranial NerveJ — R.C.Mullenix 

 has studied this with special reference to Fundulus, a Teleostean fish. 

 Between the supporting cells and the layer of the sensory cells is a region 

 which is rich in nervous material, in the form of an entangled mass of 

 fibres which extend in various directions. In this so-called nerve plexus 

 the author found no case in which the neurofibrillas of one axis cylinder 

 were in undoubted continuity with those of another axis, cylinder. In 

 the ear, at least, we have a portion of the peripheral system in which the 

 conditions are such as to furnish strong anatomical evidence in support 

 of the neurone theory — the theory which regards ganglion cell, dendrite 

 and axis cylinder as together constituting the structural unit of the 

 nervous system. In the case of Fundulus, the absence of anastomosis 

 between different axis cylinders, the distinctness of the sense-cells, and the 

 free terminations of the axis cylinders, support the validity of that view. 



Innervation of Tympanum. || — Agostino Gernelli describes, in refer- 

 ence to horse, ox, cat, etc., the tympanal ramifications (1) of the 

 auriculo-temporal branch of the trigeminal, and (2) of the nerve of 

 Jacobson — a branch of the glossopharyngeal. He gives an account of 

 the various plexuses formed and of the terminations in the cutaneous, 

 mucous, and fibrous layers. 



Mammalian Blood Studied with Dark-field Illumination. f — 

 Howard Crawley proclaims the advantages of this method, and describes 

 what he has seen in the way of " blood-dust," beaded threads, flagellated 

 erythrocytes and free flagella, bodies with pseudopodia, erythrocytes, 

 leucocytes, and blood-plates. 



Phenomena of Synaptic Phase.** — V. Gregoire discusses the pheno- 

 mena of synapsis, the formation of gemini, and the rest. He cannot accept 

 the view that the synapsis represents an abortive karyokinesis. It is 

 the first and fundamental stage in the heterotypic or reductional pro- 

 phase. 



* Comptes Rendus, cl. (1910) pp. 121-3. 

 t Arch. Mikr. Anat., lxxiii. (1909) pp. 607-80 (3 pis.). 



j Bull. Soc. Imp. Nat. Moscou, arm. 1908 (published 1909) pp. 177-325(9 pis.). 

 § Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard, liii. (1909) pp. 215-50 (6 pis.). 

 || La Cellule, xxv. (1909) pp. 119-27 (1 pi.). 



If Bureau of Animal Industry, U.S. Dept. Agric, Bull. 119 (1909) pp. 5-15. 

 ** La Cellule, xxv. (1909) pp. 87-99. 



