No. 3.] UTERUS AND EMBRYO. 419 
is without any trace of epithelium, but is covered only by a thin 
fibrous and granular coagulum, coag/; the tissue itself consists 
almost exclusively of young decidual cells, d, @', with a clear 
homogeneous matrix; here and there are leucocytes, but they 
are nowhere numerous; the decidual cells are all quite large, 
with their bodies deeply stained by the eosine; the nuclei are 
round, oval, or slightly irregular in shape, coarsely granular, and 
sharp in outline; the cells themselves, though irregular and 
variable in shape, are all more or less rounded with processes 
running off in various directions; scattered between the cells 
are many sections of their processes; occasionally it can be 
seen that two cells are connected; in fact, we have in this 
tissue evidently a modified embryonic or so-called anastomosing 
connective tissue. Now, as we know through the observations 
of Leopold, 36, which I have verified, the connective tissue of 
the uterine mucosa consists of anastomosing cells, and as stated 
in the previous section, the cells are found proliferated in the 
menstruating uterus; we have therefore only to imagine the 
cells enlarged with certain accompanying modifications, to obtain 
the tissue figured in Cut 30. There is no special formation of 
cells around the blood-vessels, where, according to Ercolani, the 
decidual tissue arises by new formation. In Turner’s specimens 
the upper part of the compact layer was imperfectly preserved, 
but according to his description there appears to have been a 
coagulum similar to that which I have found, but thicker. In 
the deep part of the layer the cells are less enlarged, and when 
the cavernous layer is reached, there occurs a rapid transition 
in the character of the cells, which become smaller and more 
fusiform, and their nuclei more elongate, smaller, and deeper 
stained by alum-cochineal. The gland openings upon the sur- 
face of the uterus lead into tubes, Cut 30, g/’, which run slightly 
obliquely through the compact layer, taking a more or less 
nearly straight course and joining the contorted gland tubes, 
Cut 30, ¢/", of the cavernous layer. The gland ducts are com- 
pletely devoid of lining epithelium, which has disappeared 
except for a very few loose cells, occasionally found lying free 
in the ducts; the cells have not fallen out from the sections, 
but were lost before the tissue was imbedded.!_ The ducts then 
1 The blocks to be cut were stained zz fofo with alum-cochineal and eosine, im- 
bedded in paraffine, etc. The sections were fastened on the slide with celloidine, to 
keep the parts in place. 
