Ou the structure of Taeuia gigantea (Peters). 387 



flattened into cresceiitic form. Such globales aie seen passing 

 along the duct. 



After receiving the duct from the vitellariuni, the combination 

 duct leaves the shell gland and becomes surrounded by a pale-staining 

 fine network of fibrils in which it courses dorsalward for a short 

 distance. Then, after some convolutions, it finally enters the uterus 

 throiigh a sort of papilla which opeus into one of the saccules on its 

 posterior surface. 



The Uterus, at this stage, forms a large sacculated cavity which 

 extends laterally in the more dorsal and anterior portions of the 

 Segment almost from one margin to the other, the most laterally 

 placed saccules extending nearly up to the level of the ciiTUS. Its 

 walls are thin, lined by a most inconspicuous flattened epithelium but 

 not supplied wäth any intrinsic miiscles except in the infoldings of 

 the parenchyma between the saccules where there are some muscle 

 fibers attached to the wall and embedded in a hyaline, red-staining 

 material. In some places, and especially in the neighborhood of the 

 Papilla, the epithelium of the uterus becomes conspicuous and almost 

 syncytium-like, with large nuclei and hyaline refractive globales. 

 At this stage of the development the saccules contained clumps of 

 cells with numerous nuclei and some refractive globules. These are 

 arranged in small round masses but there are no deiiuitely formed 

 eggs. In the mature segments the eggs are provided with Shells 

 but are so shrunken by the action of the preserving fluid that it is 

 hard to determine their precise form. In some Avhich are better 

 preserved, however, one can make out an oval forni and the followiug 

 measurements: length 100 /f; breadth 50 — 70 //. 



No external opening for the uterus has been found. 



