SECRETORY FUNCTIONS IN HUMAN PLACENTA 511 



second month of pregnancy, appear most conspicuously from the 

 end of the second month to the third, decreasing gradually after 

 that, and, though the decrease is considerable after the fifth 

 month, they may yet be demonstrated until about the sixth 

 month. Besides the above, there are detected in certain parts of 

 the interstitium numberless filar productions which have various 

 length, and are sometimes long like threads or fibers, of which 

 the smaller and shorter ones sometimes bear a close resemblance 

 to the plastosomes, while the others usually gather in great num- 

 ber and often make a mass of fibrous bundles. This kind of 

 product, so far as staining is concerned, is entirely similar to 

 the interstitial productions described above, and yet it differs 

 from the latter in that its shape is not so varied, its thickness is 

 nearly ahvays even, and, besides there is no special relation 

 which is noticeable as existing between the products and 

 neighboring cells. 



5. The epithelium of the uterine gland (figs. 72 to 83) 



As is generally well known, the uterine gland undergoes a cer- 

 tain morphological change at the early stage of pregnancy, and 

 in my previous treatise I have drawn attention especially to 

 the fact that the glandular cells also show a morphological 

 change at such a time. Here I will observe and describe more 

 thoroughly the changes of the cells concerned. 



Figure 72 shows a glandular cell which is commonly noticed 

 at the early stage of pregnancy and which is already remarkably 

 thickened and somewhat round. The shape of the nucleus for the 

 most part corresponds to that of the cell. On top of the cell there 

 are traces of cilia. The cell body contains many slender 

 and rod-shaped plastosomes, which latter chiefly gather closely 

 against and surround the nucleus. In figures 73 and 74 the 

 cell grows larger, and the plastosomes are demonstrated only 

 in the upper half, while in the lower half which contains the 

 nucleus, none of them are found. At this section of the cell 

 there are plenty of lipoid granules, which are of about equal 

 size and are stained a bright yellowish-brown color, and on 

 top of both cells there are still the traces of the cilia. In figure 



