ANNIE PORTE H 



namely , contractility. I hope to show that the term 

 « myoneme » as used in connection with Spirochaetes is not 

 misapplied. 



When normal muscular fibres are examined, waves are seen 

 to pass down them when they are stimulated, and this is mani- 

 fested as a séries of « sweUings », almost resembhng the peris- 

 taltic waves observable through the body wall in the intestine 

 of Insect larvae, for example Chironomus .W^hen living Spiro- 

 chaetes were examined under a w^ater immersion objective, 

 a succession of such bead-like swellings on the myonemes was 

 seen. Thèse bead-like swellings folio wed one another very 

 rapidly, passing from the anterior end of the organism back- 

 wards, that is, the wave passed along the myonemes in the 

 opposite direction to that in which the organism itself was 

 progressing. When the Spirochaete was moving very slowly, 

 the waves so manifested could be seen for a relatively considé- 

 rable time. 



Vlbs and Mackinnon (1908) in a short note hâve endeavou- 

 red to show that the myonemes of ^S*. halhianii are not strictly 

 myonemes, thoiigh what they really are, according to thèse 

 authors, is not quite clear. The différence between the so-called 

 biréfringence of myonemes and the depolarisation of cilia and 

 flagella is too controversial to admit of dogmatic assertions. 

 For instance, we hâve the opposing views of Rouget and 

 Engelmann as to the biréfringence or otherwise of myonemes. 

 Further, Vlès and Mackinnon hâve not clearly difïerentiated 

 between the optical properties of the body and the iindula- 

 ting membrane of 8. balbiariii (Witness their summary on 

 page 557). However, the efforts of Vlès and Mackinnon in a 

 (piite new field are worthy of much commendation. 



BoRREL and Cernovodeanu (1907) and Borrel (1908) hâve 

 compared the membrane of S. halhianii with its myonemes to 

 an umbrella open or closed. They consider the myonemes or 

 « strengthening strands » to be inserted perpendicularly to 

 the axis of the body of the Spirochaete. However, their own 



