Literary Notices. xv 



that when the influence of the nerve is withdrawn the sensory cells 

 return to the condition of indifferent epithelium from which they were 

 derived. From the point of section the peripheral end of the nerve 

 degenerates, not the central, thus again showing that the taste bud 

 and the nerve are not organically united. 



c. J. H. 



Development of Tactile Corpuscles, * 



It is interesting to compare the development of the Merkel pa- 

 pillae, referred to in the last notice, with a still more recent study of 

 the development of the tactile corpuscles of the beak of the duck. 

 The author's conclusions are as follows : 



I. The tactile cells of Grandry's and Herbst's nerve-corpuscles 

 are of connective tissue origin. 



II. The differentiation of the connective tissue cells into tactile 

 cells of Grandry's and Herbst's corpuscles takes place under the in- 

 fluence of the nerve fiber. 



III. The sharpest distinction must be drawn between Merkel's 

 corpuscles and Grandry's, and to include these heterogeneous struc- 

 tures in a single group is not admissible. The former are, as before 

 shown, of epithelial origin, the latter of connective tissue origin- 

 They are thus histogenetically, as well as histologically distinct. 



C. J. H. 



Nerve Termini in the Ear.'' 



In view of the fact that authorities are still not agreed as to the 

 mode of termination of the auditory nerve in the ear, the author has 

 investigated the matter again from the developmental standpoint, us- 

 ing complete series of trout and salmon embryos, also chick embryos. 

 The preparations were stained by means of methylene blue intra 

 vitam. 



In embryos of 4-5 mm. the peripheral processes from the bipolar 

 ganglion cells reach to the membrana propria of the undifferentiated 

 auditory vesicle, but do not pierce the membrane to reach the epithe- 

 lial cells. At 6-7 mm. the cristae acusticae have appeared and the 

 nerve fibers penetrate them, spreading out into fan-shaped termini 



^ Ladislaus Szymonowicz. Ueber den Bau unci die Entwicklung der 

 Nervenendigungen im Entenschnabel. Arch. mik. Anat., XLVIII, 2, 1896, 

 PP- 329-358. 



' Krause, R. Die Endigungsweise des Nerv. Acusticus im Gehororgan. 

 Verh. Anat. Gesdlschaft, X, 1896, pp. 165-173. 



