302 H. E. JORDAN 
with very irregular and chromatic contour. The chromatin 
has collected into spheroidal and bacillary droplets of greatly 
varying size. Subsequently the nuclear wall disappears and 
the chromatic material collects into a complicated meshwork 
simulating somewhat the loose and segmenting spiremes of 
normal mitosis (fig. 12). The latter stage passes into one char- 
acterized by partially isolated masses of chromatin simulating 
the segmented spireme, which may pass before dissolution 
through a stage characterized by the aggregation of still finer 
chromatic granules into groups showing four or more condensed 
linear areas, thus giving the impression of a multipolar mitotic 
figure, but without indication of spindle fibers. Cells like that 
of figure 15 disappear through solution of the chromatic bodies 
within the disintegrating cytoplasm. 
The giant-cells may disintegrate by still another degenerative 
route. Repeated amitotic nuclear division of a polykaryocyte 
may lead through stages represented by figures 4, 16, and 17. 
The relatively small nuclei of cells like that of figure 17 may 
then suffer a peripheral condensation of their chromatin, fol- 
lowed by fusion (left of fig. 18), which steps lead to a condition 
like that shown in figure 19; after this stage the now naked 
nucleus loses its staining capacity and fragments. Finally, the 
polymorphous nucleus of certain giant-cells may begin to stain 
very deeply, giving to the whole a homogeneous appearance 
(fig. 20). Such a cell has entered upon a stage of active cyto- 
plasmic disintegration. The latter progresses, forcing a con- 
densation upon the nucleus (fig. 21). The nucleus persists 
for a while longer as a compact naked body (fig. 22), but even- 
tually disappears by fragmentation. Figures 23 and 24 illus- 
trate two additional variations of nuclear changes during degen- 
eration of the type of cell represented in figure 18. 
Discussion 
The foregoing description shows that the several later stages 
in the alleged mitotic division of the medullary giant-cells repre- 
sent in fact the terminal stages in at least four different modes 
