46 Journal of Comparative Neurology. 



above the corium among the cells. Such fibers can be seen, it 

 is true, but they are so different in appearance from the medul- 

 lated part of these fibers that we are forced to conclude that 

 what Dr. Pfitzner really saw is the intracellular skein of which 

 mention has been made. It is a most natural mistake in the 

 absence of more reliable methods and especially as the methyl- 

 ene blue process was not at his disposal. The finding of two 

 nerve termini in each cell is apparently to be explained as a re- 

 sult of the fact that the base of the skein is hidden, as we found 

 it to be in oblique or thick sections, so that the appearance fig- 

 ured by Pfitzner frequently recurs and if one had a preconcep- 

 tion in favor of the the nervous structure of the element one 

 might easily construe it as he has done. After the above we 

 may be released from the obligation to consider the extensive 

 and interesting theories based upon the supposed intracellular 

 endings. 



Transitional Cells. In certain regions of the skin the epi- 

 thelium layer is greatly thickened and the Leydig cells are re- 

 reduced in number or carried to a higher (ectal) level. In such 

 portions of the skin, as on the dorsal region, an interesting mod- 

 ification of the structure above described is found. Here the 

 lower series of cells is elongated in a direction perpendicular to 

 the surface forming a sort of palisade type of cells. A definite 

 wall is often apparent in the lower portion proximad of the 

 nucleus, while the peripheral part seems to fray out into a rep- 

 resentative of the pericellular mesh-work. Where the Leydig 

 cells are present there is every reason to believe that these cells 

 participate in the formation of such of a pericellular network as 

 has been described above but somewhat modified by the 

 changed conditions. In a large number of cases we have ob- 

 served a nerve fiber after passing through the corium seeking the 

 base of these cells and making an intimate connection with one 

 of them. Here the opportunity to observe the union is much 

 better than the other case and the connection is perfect. In a 

 certain sense these cells are intermediate between the rod cells 

 and those that supply the pericellular meshwork. (Fig. 25.) 



