196 William Montagna 



combined staining property is identical with that of mucus. 

 Also, the curdled luminal content of these glands stains like 

 the granules just described. This, too, is like mucus, and is 

 strikingly different from the serous content of normal glands 

 which is clear and nearly achromic. 



As soon as the epithelial cells become flattened, the myo- 

 epithelial cells become very thin and inconspicuous. In the 

 tubules lined by squamous cells myoepithelial cells cannot 

 be demonstrated. The presence of conspicuous myoepithelial 

 cells, then, is a property of the functional glands. 



The duct is the most resistant structure of the axillary gland 

 and it is never changed morphologically. All of its features 

 are like those of normal mature glands, even in those subjects 

 in which the glandular tubule is reduced to a series of thin- 

 walled cysts. This point is of some interest. Perhaps in spite 

 of the changes which the glands suffer with ageing, they still 

 retain some secretory activity, although the type of secretion 

 is considerably altered. 



Mitotic figures are not infrequent in the glandular epithe- 

 lium of aged subjects. It must be recalled that mitosis is not 

 common even in the glands of young women. In the glands of 

 women 50 years of age or older mitotic figures may be found 

 even in the flattened epithelial cells. If these are self -propagat- 

 ing cells, then the changes that they have undergone are not 

 degenerative. 



Axillary glands are inactive in children, become functional 

 at puberty and remain active throughout the sexual life. In 

 old age axillary odour seems to disappear, indicating a decrease 

 and final cessation of apocrine secretion. In women the glands 

 are believed to undergo periods of greater or lesser activity 

 correlated with the menstrual cycle and with pregnancy. 



Authors generally agree that the glands are small and in- 

 active during the intermenstruum and become swollen and 

 active during the premenstruum and during the menstruum 

 (Loeschcke, 1925; Schaffer, 1926). Cavazzana (1947) believes 

 that during the premenstruum and menstruum the glands 

 are actually larger than during the intermenstruum; their 



