Ca*r. VI. DIGESTION. 99 



interesting to observe how gradually they disappeared, 

 when the same fibre was traced into the surrounding 

 fluid. They disappeared by the strioB being replaced 

 by transverse lines formed of excessively minute dark 

 points, which towards the exterior could be seen only 

 under a very high power ; and ultimately these points 

 were lost. When I made these observations, I had 

 not read Schiff's account* of the digestion of meat 

 by gastric juice, and I did not understand the mean- 

 ing of the dark points. But this is explained in the 

 following statement, and we further see how closely 

 similar is the process of digestion by gastric juice and 

 by the secretion of Drosera. 



"On a dit que le sue gastrique faisait perclre a la fibre muscu- 

 laire ses strips transversales. Ainsi enoncee, cette proposition 

 pourrait donner lien a nne equivoque, car cequi se perd, ce n'est 

 que I'uspect exterieur de la striature et non les elements anato- 

 miques qui la composent. On sait que les strics qui donnent un 

 aspect si caracteristique a la fibre musculaire, sout le resultat de 

 la juxtaposition et du parallelisme des corpuscules elementaires, 

 places, a distances egales, dans 1'interieur des fibrilles conligues. 

 Or, des que le tissu connectif qui relie entre elles les fibrilles 

 elementaires vient a se gonfler et a se dissoudre, et que les 

 fibrilles elles-memes se dissocient, ce parallelisme est detruit et 

 avec lui 1'aspect, le phenomene optique des stries. Si, apres la 

 desagregation des fibres, on examine au microscope les fibrilles 

 elementaires, on distingue encore tres-nettement a leur interieur 

 les corpuscules, et on continue a les voir, de plus en plus pales, 

 jusqu'au moment ou les fibrilles elles-memes se liquefient et dis- 

 paraissent dans le sue gastrique. Ce qui constitue la striature, 

 a proprement parler, n'est done pas detruit, avant la lique- 

 faction de la fibre charuue elle-meme." 



ID the viscid fluid surrounding the central sphere of 

 undigested meat there were globules of fat and little 

 bits of fibro-elastic tissue ; neither of which were in 



'Le9ons phys. de la Digestion,' torn. ii. p. 145. 



