142 



sometimes branched cells (Fig. 27); the latter undergo no change, 

 beyond a slight increase in size; we will speak of them as sup- 

 porting cells. 



The fornier on the other hand soon begin to exhibit a vacuo- 

 lation which is different, in well preserved material, from the 

 vacuolation of the trophoblastic glycogenic cells. The vacuoles are 

 sniall and spherical, especially towards the centre of the cell, 

 towards the periphery however they are larger but still spherical. 

 The substance contained in the vacuoles in also glycogen. Lying 

 near the centre of the cell with a small niass of cytoplasm to 

 one side of it, is the nucleus which, again, almost invariably, 

 presents characters which make it possible to distinguish these 

 maternal glycogenic cells from those with similar contents, but 

 of embryonic origin. The nucleus is round, with a single nucleolus, 

 a nucleoplasm which stains fairly strongly with acid dyes, and 

 chroinatiu very finely sub-divided with the exception of one or 

 two larger karyosonies in close apposition to the nucleolus. In a 

 very few cases the nucleus has been observed elongated, and 

 sometimes two nucleoli have been seen. 



Further, granules, which have been observed in the fresh con- 

 ditiou (Fig. 32a) and which cannot therefore be attributed merely 

 to the coagulation caused by the reagents, raay be seen in the 

 cytoplasm. These granules stain with iron haematoxylin, basic 

 and acid anilin stains, indigo-carmine, but not with borax- carmine. 

 I was at oue time inclined to suppose that they might be some 

 orgauic iron compound, but up to the present I have not suc- 

 ceeded in obtaining the prussian-blue reaction with them. I shall 

 have to return to these granules when considering the fate of 

 this maternal glycogenic tissue during the following periods. 



Lastly these cells never become polyhedral by mutual com- 

 pression; they are always rounded or oval, and well marked off 

 from oue another; they are grouped closely round the blood 

 vessels. On the mésometric side this tissue is bounded by a layer 

 of elongated connective tissue cells (Figs. 3 — 5); above this is 

 the circular muscularis, broken up, as stated above, at the root 



