author's abstract of this paper issued 

 by the bibliographic service, june 27 



THE CULTIVATION IN VITRO OF LIVER CELLS FROM 



THE CHICK EMBRYO 



RUTH STOCKING LYNCH 



Carnegie Laboratory of Embryology, Johns Hopkins Medical School 



TWENTY-FIVE FIGURES 



INTRODUCTION 



The liver of the chick embryo is composed of at least two dif- 

 ferent types of cells, the parenchyma or liver cells proper and the 

 endothelial cells of the sinusoids [Minot']. In addition, much 

 of the surface is covered by the mesothelial cells of the peri- 

 toneum. According to Minot, after 96 hours of incubation the 

 embryonic chick liver contains no mesenchyme. In our cultures 

 four types of cells were found growing out from the explants: 

 liver cells, endothelium, mesothelial cells, and wandering cells. 

 The liver cells migrated out from the explant as a membrane or 

 sheet of cells somewhat similar to the membranes formed by the 

 endodermal cells from cultures of the intestine though less ex- 

 tensive. The growth of the endothelium was more or less 

 reticular. 



In some of the successful cultures only liver cells proper and 

 wandering cells were present (fig. 1), but in most of them 

 endothelium was also found (figs. 19, 20, 23). A few cultures 

 showed mesothelial cells as well. The endothelium grew either 

 in close association with the liver cells or more or less isolated 

 from them. In many cultures the liver cells overgrew a retic- 

 ulum of endothelium which lay next to the cover-glass (fig. 20). 

 In others there was complete separation between the two types 

 of cells, endothelium only growing out from one part of the ex- 



1 Minot, C. S. 1900 On a hitherto unrecognized form of blood circulation 

 without capillaries in organs of vertebrata. Proc. Boston Soc. of Nat. Hist., 

 vol. 30. 



281 



