No. 1.] ORIGIN OF HUMAN MONSTERS. 95 
and suggest very much a section through an ulcerating 
wound. No. 25 may possibly represent a more advanced 
stage, inasmuch as the free end of the cord is more rounded. 
To what extent a cord may grow, or at least round itself 
off, is shown in No. 279.. The fleshy chorion is composed 
of villi which seem to be nearly normal, the mesoderm being 
somewhat hyaline in structure, with a diminished number of 
nuclei scattered through it. Within there is a large free 
umbilical cord curled upon itself and rounded at its free end. 
No doubt the fcetus escaped from its membranes before they 
were expelled. However, I was unable to determine whether 
this had really taken place. The blood-vessels of the large 
villi are well developed, indicating that at one time the foetus 
present must have been pretty large. At any rate, the broken 
end of the cord became rounded and healed over after the 
foetus had been broken off. 
Specimen No. 77 shows that the free cords are gradually 
destroyed if the ovum is retained in the uterus long enough. 
In it the chorion and amnion are both more fibrous than 
normal. The villi are being invaded by leucocytes and syn- 
cytium, giving the secondary changes which are often seen 
when the mesoderm of the villi has lost its vitality. No rem- 
nants of blood-vessels are present in the villi. The cavity of 
the amnion contains a clear fluid, and on one side there is a 
small stumpy cord, about one millimeter in diameter, which 
attaches the amnion to the chorion. 
Nos. 334 and 379 may also be considered with this group. 
No. 334 formed a fleshy mole, with a cavity in its center, 
15 mm. in diameter, and contains the fragment of an embryo 
which must have been fully five weeks old when it died. The 
main tissue of the mole is composed of uterine mucous mem- 
brane, decidua, blood and pus, with a ramifying chorion in 
it. The wall of the chorion is infiltrated with leucocytes on 
its outside and invaded by syncytium from its inside. Had 
it not been for the fragment of an embryo this specimen 
would have been grouped in Table III. No. 379 contains a 
granular embryo, 10 mm. long, which readily fell into pieces 
upon being handled. 
