Dr. Waller on the Origin of Mucus and Pus-globules. 401 



tended membrane presented but a slight appearance of injec- 

 tion, in comparison to that which is exhibited by it in ordi- 

 nary instances. The microscope showed that there existed 

 scarcely a vessel containing stagnant blood. The venous and 

 internal trunks were all considerably paler and more transpa- 

 rent than I had ever before seen them, and their outlines were 

 distinctly marked, instead of that dull and indistinct appear- 

 ance produced in ordinary cases by the extra fibrination or 

 transudation of the liquor sanguinis. The circulation of the 

 blood was extremely rapid in the trunks and capillaries, so 

 much so as to render it impossible to detect the separate par- 

 ticles during their course. After the lapse of three or four 

 hours the capillaries had become in a measure engorged with 

 stagnant blood, but to a much less extent than usual. Many 

 of the circulating papillae were found to contain a central nu- 

 cleus, completely black and opake, occupying the whole in- 

 ternal area, generally containing the vascular coil. Within 

 this dark nucleus there appeared no circulation. In one of 

 them, the passage of the blood particles could be traced from 

 the point of entrance on one side to the dark nucleus, and from 

 thence to the opposite extremity of the vessel. Most of the 

 papillae in this subject presented this appearance ; in a few 

 other papillae the vascular coils existed as usual. I have 

 met with papillae of the same appearance in numerous other 

 instances. After the engorgement of the capillaries had con- 

 tinued some time, the usual signs of the escape of the cor- 

 puscles were to be detected, and they were seen diffused over 

 various parts of the membrane mingled with blood-discs, 

 arising from the ruptured vessel. In other experiments, where 

 no such loss of blood occurred, the tongue became entirely 

 covered with corpuscles, without any admixture of blood- 

 discs. 



While engaged in the examination of the same animal I 

 made a few observations upon the muscular striae, which I 

 here mention, as they were very distinctly seen without any 

 further preparation of the organ. The fibres of the genio- 

 glossus appeared perfectly round and cylindrical, with very 

 perfect transverse markings, the direction of which varied in 

 the same fibre on altering slightly the focus of the instrument, 

 thereby indicating that at different depths the striae had differ- 

 ent directions. At the extremity of the tongue the fibres no 

 longer presented this rounded appearance, but seemed per- 

 fectly flat. The transverse striae at this place did not appear 

 to be confined within separate cylinders, but the whole sur- 

 face was covered with muscular striae and with dark parallel 

 lines, indicating the presence of muscular fibres. The entire 



Phil. Mag. S. 3. Vol. 29. No. 195. Nov. 1 846. 2 E 



