336 ARTHUR WILLIAM MEYER 
the chorionic membrane which had undergone degeneration. 
They were not so common here, but sometimes were exceed- 
ingly numerous in small areas. They were found in the am- 
nion also, in the umbilical cord, and in the tentorium cerebelli, 
and as isolated specimens in embryonic mesenchyme elsewhere. 
As emphasized by other investigators there seemed to be nothing 
particularly characteristic about their distribution except that 
they were more common in places where the mesenchyme was 
degenerating. Sometimes a considerable number were con- 
tained in one villus and none in an adjacent one. As many as 
twelve might lie in one field and none in the next. Very rarely 
was there a solid mass of them, but usually they were scattered 
about at random, although groups also were seen. The better- 
preserved cells were small, the poorer-preserved larger, the size 
varying from 8.5 4 to 30 u. The smaller cells usually were 
quite circular in outline, stained evenly and possessed a non- 
granular cytoplasm with a nucleus quite centrally located. Bi- 
nucleate cells, as described by Grosser, were not uncommon, 
and multinucleated cells—fusion products—also were found. 
The nuclei of the latter frequently were more unequal in size, 
and usually also more oval in outline, than the single nucleus 
of the typical Hofbauer cell. Measurements of the larger cells 
made with a micrometer caliper, gave the following results which 
are considerably above those given by Hofbauer, whose estima- 
tion of 10.5 uw to 12.5 uw applies to the average-sized cell. 
Size of the larger Hofbauer cells in micra 
25.5 X 20.4 
30.4 X 27.5 
18.0 X 12.0 
21.5 X 25.5 
18.0 < 14.0 
However, the size of the cells varied from specimen to specimen 
of chorionic vesicle, but not nearly so much as their state of 
preservation. ‘This no doubt, partly is due to the varying state 
of preservation of the villi themselves. 
