THE HISTOGENESIS OF DENSE LYMPHATIC TISSUE 175 



surrounding connective tissue causing the cells to pile up at the 

 periphery. 



Careful examination of the central portions of the nodules 

 reveals the fact that the different concentration of cells is not 

 alone responsible for the lighter appearance of the center. There 

 are found among the elements making up a nodule, certain large 

 cells, whose abundant cytoplasm is acidophilic in character, sur- 

 rounding a fairly large nucleus, which also has a tendency to react 

 to acid stains or stains only weakly basophilic. Some of these 

 large acidophile cells were observed to contain in their cytoplasm 

 bodies of various sizes and reacting variously to basis stains 

 (fig. 5). 



These cells have been quite differently described and inter- 

 preted by authors who studied them. Flemming ('85) described, 

 cells in the germinal center of lymphatic nodules, the nuclei 

 of which were identical with the ' large lymphocytes, ' containing 

 in their cytoplasm various deeply staining bodies, which he 

 designated stainable bodies. The nature of these bodies he did 

 not know. 



Downey and Weidenreich ('12) also found in the germinal 

 centers large free cells, derived from cells of the reticulum which 

 possessed phagocytic powers. The phagocytized elements they 

 thought comparable to the stainable bodies of Flemming, which 

 were possibly cellular, particularly nuclear remnants. 



Hartmann ('14) also saw large acidophile cells in the nodules of 

 the intestinal tonsils, which did not occur in lymphatic tissue 

 elsewhere in the body. These were large, free, irregular shaped 

 cells, which were derived from cells of the reticulum, with cyto- 

 plasmic inclusions. The inclusions he found to be always round 

 or oval, and concluded they must be of a fluid or gelatinous 

 nature. Because they stained a 'braunrosa' color with sudanlll 

 he thought them to be of a lipoid nature. 



The large acidophile cells found present in the intestinal lym- 

 phatic tissue are, morphologically, very similar to the cells 

 described by Flemming, Weidenreich and Downey, and Hart- 

 mann. The cytoplasmic inclusions certainly do not, however, 

 react as lipoids, as according to Hartmann, but in appearance 



