63 



gland is of the tubulo-acinar type, with, at this period of the year 

 (June-July), a very scanty amount of inter-acinar connective tissue. 

 In the connective tissue are a large number of blood-vessels. The band 

 of unstriated muscle encircling the tubules, previously demonstrated 

 by OuDEMANS, is clearly seen, especially if White's method of using 

 picro-erythrosin be adopted (13); the fibrous tissue staining pink with 

 the erythrosin, while the calcium-picrate has a reaction on the muscle. 

 Frequently, small fasciculi of unstriated muscle fibres are seen cut 

 transversely in the inter-acinar connective tissue. Oudemans — as 

 before stated — describes the acini of these glands as identical with 

 those of the prostate; that is to say, the acini are lined by cylindrical 

 epithelium which dififers only from that found in the seminal vesicles 

 in that, in the former, it is folded into the lumen of the acinus. It 

 is not, however, unusual to find in the seminal vesicles small tubules 

 with plicated epithelium — probably from want of distension with 

 secretion. 



Oudemans' description and figure of the microscopical characters 

 of the gland (prostate No. 2) notwithstanding, it will be seen from 

 Figs. 1, 2 and 3, appended hereto, that the gland is not such a simple 

 structure as has hitherto been maintained. The acinus marked a 

 corresponds to that described by Oudemans, in so far as the epi- 

 thelium consists of tall cylindrical cells, and that in the majority of 

 instances, the epithelium forms folds which project into the lumen. Not 

 infrequently, however, one finds acini which are quite devoid of this 

 infolding of the epithelium. The degree of plication varies greatly. The 

 cells are narrow and closely packed ; their nuclei are oval and situated 

 close to the basement membrane. Small cells are frequently intercalated 

 between the secreting cells and the basement membrane; and, as 

 Griffiths says, their function is probably to replace the cast-off epi- 

 thelial cells. Griffiths noticed their presence in the prostate gland and 

 states that they were first discovered by Langerhans. The nuclei of the 

 intercalated cells are circular. The free border of the secreting cells is 

 well defined and appears, when treated with picro-erythrosin, to be 

 striated. With a high magnification the cells are seen to be finely 

 granular and opaque and their nuclei to contain numerous chromatin 

 granules. No demilunes of serous cells have been observed, though 

 ViTALLis Müller (14) records their presence in the Cowper's glands 

 of human embryos of 16 — 17 cm; and Böhm and Davidoff (15) state 

 that Cowper's glands in man are lined by mucous cells and that 

 crescents of Gianuzzi are seldom seen. 



The glands yield a white secretion which by the action of alcohol 



