HUMAN MAGMA RETICULE IN NORMAL AND PATHOLOGICAL DE^•ELOPMENT. 21 



opaque nodules about 0.5 mm. in diameter. With much difficulty the embryo was 

 teased out, but it was practically impossible to clear it entirely of the magma fibrils. 

 The embryo is long and slender, looking more like that of a dog than a human speci- 

 men, the head being unusuallj' small and thin for a human embryo of 0.5 mm. long. 

 The fibers are irregularly stuck together by small granules, and there is a gap in the 

 center which represents the i)lace in which the embryo was located. The illustration 

 shows this condition beautifully. The specimen was sent me bj' Dr. Fewsmith, of 

 Trenton, New Jersey, who obtained it from a woman whose menstrual period had 

 been a month overdue. 



An extremely interesting specimen is No. 545, well illustrated in figure 1, plate 3. 

 The magma is not extensive, but it is pronounced. The embryo is atrophic, and the 

 chorion is only partly covered with villi. The specimen was sent me by Dr. Rand, 

 of New Haven, Connecticut. It was obtained from a woman who is the mother of 

 one healthy child. The last menstrual period began on September 2. Bleeding 

 began on October 22 and ended with the abortion on October 25. The ovum was 

 found embedded in the clots of blood attached to the cervix of the uterus. 



An extreme case of degeneration of the magma is shown in No. 660, also well 

 illustrated in figures 4 and 5, plate 3. There is a tendency towards membrane 

 formation, tough strands of fibrils, spaces, and clumps of granules. The chorionic 

 wall is hemorrhagic and degenerated; within there is a collapsed amnion containing 

 a cheesy granular mass. 



I shall use two more specimens to illustrate the nature of granular mass in more 

 advanced stages. The first is No. 605 and the second is No. 584a. No. 605 is a white 

 transparent specimen, covered with a uniform layer of villi which branch two or 

 three times. The entire specimen measures 45 by 40 by 25 mm.; a small patch of 

 decidua adheres to the outside. The interior is partly filled with coarse strands of 

 reticular magma, having numerous granules attached. On one side of the specimen 

 the umbilical cord is seen, surrounded by a ragged amnion. The tip of the cord has 

 a piece of intestine and stomach hanging from it. The larger masses of tissue which 

 are intermingled with the reticular magma must be the remnants of the embrj'o, 

 parts of which appear to be normal, and judging from the form and size of the arms 

 and legs the embrj^o is about 10.5 mm. long. The second sjiecimen is unusually 

 interesting because it contains a normal embryo with hernia of the liver. The 

 exocoelom is unusually large and is filled with a more extensive layer of reticular 

 magma than should be found in an ovum containing a normal embryo of this size. 



The remaining three specimens are given because they well illustrate various 

 degrees of reticular magma within the ovum. 



No. 560 (plate 1, figure 6) shows very pronounced reticular magma inter- 

 mingled with much granular. Two stages of somewhat later development are given 

 in Nos. 636 and 991. In the former (plate 1, figure 10) the magma is more pro- 

 nounced than in normal development, and in the latter fjilatc^ 1, figure 7) it is in an 

 extreme amount. 



Finally, a unique specimen (No. 1189) throws some light upon the formation 

 of the reticular magma. The ovum came to us within the uterus, having been re- 

 moved b}^ an operation. At first it seemed to be normal, but on opening it the 



