INO: 3; ] UTERUS AND EMBRYO. 351 
gland cavities are closed; the diameter of the glands has enor- 
mously increased, and in some places two adjacent glands have 
swollen until they have come in contact and fused, the glands 
then forming a network; in the placental region the conversion 
of the glands into a network goes very far. The distribution of 
the nuclei as at @ and 6 preserves in some parts the original 
grouping in opposite walls of the gland tube; at other points 
they lie in irregular patches. Secondary cavities, vac, appear 
at various points; they are irregular in size, shape, and position, 
and arise by the resorption of the degenerated tissue. There is 
probably a certain amount of resorption carried on upon the 
surface against the connective tissue, for that surface becomes 
jagged and irregular, presenting a corroded appearance, as can 
be seen at various parts of Fig. 4. The vacuolization is, how- 
ever, the principal factor of destruction. As to the manner in 
which the spaces are produced in the heart of the very compact 
layer, my observations give no satisfactory information. There 
are no accumulations of leucocytes either in the epithelial layer 
nor even in the connective tissue (see Fig. 4), in which all the 
cells are copied with approximately entire accuracy from the 
preparation. The only material I have ever noticed in the vacu- 
oles is broken-down fragments of the surrounding hyaline tissue 
(epithelium) itself. The hypothesis may be suggested that the 
resorption vacuoles are produced by liquefaction, but the sug- 
gestion calls for no further discussion since there are no direct 
observations to test the validity of the hypothesis. 
The deep portions of the peri-placental glands, Fig. 4, ¢/, are 
dilated transversely to an extent which has converted them from 
tubes into wide vesicles. Towards the ob-placental region the 
transverse stretching gradually increases. The epithelium differs 
but little from that of the resting utricular glands; it is com- 
posed of cylinder cells with basally placed oval nuclei. 
In the ob-placental region the mucosa is much thinner than 
elsewhere. As we proceed from the edge of the peri-placental 
region towards the pole furthest from the placenta we find that 
the layer thins out and is more advanced in its degeneration. 
Near the peri-placental thickening there is a wide superficial 
layer of degenerated epithelium with the characteristic central 
band of nuclei, but the prolongations corresponding to the 
degenerated gland ducts are short; the deep portions of the 
