HEMAL NODES IN BOVINES AND GOATS 369 



of large numbers of giant cells, some of which wei'c of consider- 

 able size. From two to six of these cells could be seen in almost 

 any section, and several were not infrequently grouped in a 

 small area. These poly- and megakaryocytes were especially 

 numerous in the nodes of foetuses near term. They were 

 always somewhat irregular in outline, occasionally very much 

 so, seldom contained inclusions and as in the case of the nodes 

 of the sheep always la}' in the lymphatic tissue. Eosinophiles 

 were not seen in the bovine nodes examined and pigment was 

 seen onl}- in nodes which were practically sacs of blood. 



The erythrocytes were scattered about indiscriminately among 

 the lymphocytes in most of these young nodes and in several 

 cases a vessel was seen opening directly into the subcapsular 

 space thus confirming similar appearances rarely seen in hemal 

 nodes from foetal sheep as reported some years since (Meyer, 

 '08). I am at a loss for an interpretation of this observation 

 except to suggest that it may be, in part, a survival of an early 

 stage of development although veins from the surrounding 

 tissue may enter the subcapsular sinuses of mature nodes. It 

 may be recalled that a similar relationship was found to exist 

 in the case of a very small supernumerary spleen from the great 

 omentum of an adult. This spleen did not even fill the field of 

 an oil immersion lense (see fig. 10, Meyer, Anat. Rec. 1914). 

 As in case of the foetal nodes of the sheep so in subcutaneous 

 nodes, there often were no definite blood spaces, while in others, 

 portions of the developing node seemed to contain a plexus of 

 engorged vessels with but very few erythrocytes scattered among 

 the lymph cells. The latter type of node contained almost no 

 giant cells, but the former many. From these and from similar 

 observations made some time previously on nodes of the sheep, 

 it seemed probable that the stage when the vessels came into 

 relation to the developing node could apparently vary somewhat 

 both as to time and character. This supposition is also con- 

 firmed by facts observed in connection with ileveloping sub- 

 cutaneous hemal nodes in bovines as reported in the accompany- 

 ing paper. 



