EFFECTS ON THE LYMPH AND LYMPHATIC GLANDS 265 



red corpuscles. He also found all the ganglia with blood-filled sinuses in a dog 

 emaciated by repeated hemorrhage and inanition, although this was not 

 observed in a cat after 12 days of total inanition. Retterer concluded that the 

 ordinary lymph glands may be changed into hemolymph glands by inanition. 



In a more detailed histological study of the lymphatic glands from the 

 fasting animals, Retterer ('02a) found the sections appearing spongy and 

 rarefied. The medullary cords and lymphoid follicles appear less distinct 

 than normally. The reticulum loses its affinity for hematoxylin, but stains 

 deeply with the acidophile stains. In the lymphoid masses, the lymphoid 

 cells have become separated by the cytoplasmic atrophy, and the stroma, 

 though also atrophic, becomes distinct as granular filaments. The atrophy 

 of the lymphoid tissue is accompanied by enlargement of the peripheral and 

 central lymph sinuses, which contain free cells of various types: (1) numerous 

 chromatic nuclei of 4 to 7^; (2) leukocytes; (3) cells with clear, unstained cyto- 

 plasm and irregular margins; (4) cytoplasmic masses with several nuclei. In 

 many of the free cells, the cytoplasm has undergone " degenerescence hemo- 

 globique" (phagocytosis of red corpuscles?). The nuclei of the lymphoid cells 

 are poor in nucleoplasm, and the chromatin may become fragmented so as to 

 simulate mitosis (as claimed by Morpurgo). In summary: 



"En un mot, l'atrophie qui suit l'abstinence prolongee se traduit dans le 

 ganglion lymphatique par la rarefaction du tissue et la transformation du 

 protoplasma commun et continu en cellules libres ou leucocytes. La mac- 

 eration, les agents mecaniques ou chimiques conduisent au meme resultat." 



According to Hammar ('09), unpublished observations by Hellman show that 

 the lymphoid tissue in general undergoes "accidental involution" during inani- 

 tion, though not so marked as in the thymus. The changes during inanition 

 in the weight of the bursa of Fabricius (a lymphoidal appendage of the cloaca in 

 birds) were observed by Jolly and Levin ('11) for the pigeon, chicken and duck. 

 With a loss of 30-37 per cent in body weight, the bursa lost 48-77 per cent, 

 or about the same as the thymus and spleen. On refeeding pigeons 8-15 days 

 after starvation for 8 days, with increase of 28 per cent in body weight the bursa 

 of Fabricius increased 102 per cent, which was relatively greater than the 

 increase in the spleen (53 per cent), but less than that in the thymus (246 per 

 cent). 



The distribution of fat in the lymph nodes during inanition was studied by 

 Holthusen ('10). Holmstrom ('11) noted an increased deposit of lipoidal 

 granules in the lymph nodes, chiefly in the sinus reticulum, of fasting rabbits. 

 Normal conditions were restored after a week of refeeding. 



Jolly ('n) studied the histological changes in the bursa of Fabricius (or 

 "cloacal thymus") in pigeons during inanition. As in the involution of the 

 thymus, there is an atrophy, especially in the cortex, due to emigration of 

 lymphocytes. "Les modifications histologiques que nous venons de decrire 

 consistent done essentiellement en une disparition graduelle des lymphocytes 

 avec conservation du bourgeon epithelial qui forme la trame de la substance 

 medullaire. Cette involution rappelle celle qui est due a l'age, mais elle n'est pas 

 definitive. Si on laisse mourir l'animal, elle n'a pas le temps d'aboutir a 



