THE INTEALOBULAE FEAMEWOEK OF THE HUMAN SPLEEN. 



BY 



PRESTON KYES, A. M., M. D. 



{Associate in Anatomy, the University of Chicago.) 



With one Text Figure. 



The coarser framework of the human spleen divides the organ into 

 small masses of parenchyma — the lobules, each having an afferent 

 artery near its center and the larger efferent veins at its periphery. 



The finer fraraev/ork of the spleen subdivides each lobule and sup- 

 ports the individual spleen cells and smaller blood-vessels contained 

 therein. The finer framework is an extension within the lobule of the 

 coarser framework of the trabeculse and is here indicated as the intra- 

 lobular framework. 



HISTOEY. 



Oesterlen/. writing in 18-13, mentioned, without description, a sub- 

 stance between the individual cells of the spleen pulp. 



Atto Tigri," iji 1853, described as a constant element of structure an 

 intercellular network giving support to the spleen cells. 



Billroth/ in 1857, coufirmed the presence of this intercellular frame- 

 work, and described its minute structure more in detail. From a com- 

 parative study of the vertebrata, he concluded that the framework was 

 formed by stellate cells M'hose anastomosing processes appeared as 

 fibers connecting the cell bodies proper with one another. Thus, 

 according to Billroth, the cell bodies appeared as local expansions of 

 the fibrils, each containing a definite nucleus. From the spleens of 

 amphibia he isolated stellate cells that he asserted were the branched 

 cells forming the intralobular framework. From the human spleen, 

 however, he could not isolate the corresponding cells, and stated that 

 their demonstration in situ was more difficult than in lower forms 

 because of their relative infrequency. 



'.Oesterlen, F. : Beitrage zur Physiologic des gesunclen unci kranken Orgaiiismus, Jena, 

 1843. 



2 Tigri, A. : Schiarimenti sulla struttiira e sulla funzione clella milza, Gazz. tried, ital. 

 feder. tosc, Firenze, 2 s., T. Ill, 1853, pp. 25-27. 



3 Billroth, T. : Beitrage z%ir vergleichenden Histologic der MHz, Arch. f. Anat., Physiol., 

 u. wissensch. Med., Berl., 1857, S. 88-108. 



