358 S. SAGUCHI 



These fibrillae are extremely fine and stain a blue or violet color 

 with alum-haematoxylin, as is the case with the chromatin cor- 

 puscles of the nucleus. That this staining reaction is not con- 

 ditioned by the presence of chromatin substance will be apparent 

 from the fact that, in iron-haematoxylin preparations made from 

 the sublimate or Zenker material, the fibrillae take no color or, 

 at the most, a gray, whereas the chromatin network stains black. 



Since it is seen that the arrangement of the fibrillar structure 

 in question cannot be explained by the mere precipitating action 

 of the fixatives, we are not justified in drawing the conclusion 

 that it is not preexistent, although it cannot be seen in the fresh 

 state or in the osmium preparation. I believe that the following 

 explanation can be put forward to account for the genesis of the 

 structure: It is admitted by some investigators that the cyto- 

 plasm contains, besides protein substances, a large amount of 

 lipoid substances. In the application of such fixatives as pre- 

 serve lipoid substances in their natural position, e.g., of osmic 

 acid solution, the plasma remains homogeneous; whereas the 

 fixatives containing alcohol, chloroform, acetic acid, etc., seem 

 to dissolve out either lipoids or certain protein substances so 

 that the fibrillae which form a morphological constituent of the 

 plasm, and which in the fresh state are obscured in the plasma 

 sap, become differentiated both in refrangibility and in tingibility. 

 In other words, the plasm which holds the fibrillae in position 

 becomes removed, and the latter are liberated. The fibrillae 

 which have thus been individualized, I propose to name 'proto- 

 fibrillae.' They are extremely fine, and it is a matter of difficulty 

 to perceive their individuality even in thin sections. Much 

 more is this the case in the fresh state where it is necessary to 

 make examinations in thick layers. The fibrillae which we can 

 recognize in fixed preparations must certainly be regarded as 

 having to some extent undergone definite alterations, above all 

 adhesion of the protofibrillae. It may be conceived that the lat- 

 ler, individualized in consequence of the dissolving out of a cer- 

 tain plasma portion as above presumed, can no longer be main- 

 tained in their natural position and come, as it were, to float in 

 the cell-body, so that there is liability to adhere to one another. 



