68 



Mann's eosin - toluidin - blue method is useful for showing the 

 structure of the extruded nuclei: as before, the eosin stains the se- 

 cretion, the toluidin-blue has no action upon it. With iron-alum the 

 extruded nuclei stain an intense black, and the secretion as a whole 

 stains slightly deeper than does the cell protoplasm. 



The same relative reaction of secretion and extruded nuclei takes 

 place with carmalum. With Mayer's muchsematein I have not been 

 able to obtain satisfactory results. Safranin (Grübler) stains the se- 

 cretion faintly. 



Turning to the glands of animals not sexually mature and of 

 animals taken during the "quiescent" stage one finds a very difl'erent 

 appearance. Griffiths has shown that there is a change in the histo- 

 logy of the prostate gland in the hedgehog from the "active" to the 

 "quiescent" stage and has stated that a similar change occurs in 

 Cowper's glands. I have found the latter in a fully grown animal, 

 which was killed on October 22nd, to be greatly atrophied. 



Microscopically the "quiescent" glands consist largely of fibrous 

 connective tissue; the gland tubules having greatly decreased in size 

 (Fig. 4). The two types of acini are, however, clearly distinguisable. 

 The acini of type "a" are exceedingly small and lined by a single 

 layer of cells possessing oval and relatively large nuclei. 



In the majority of cases the lumen is small. The demarcation 

 of the basement membrane from the gland stroma is not distinct, and 

 there is frequently a circle of irregular cells with rounded nuclei about 

 the acini. The surrounding layer of unstriped muscle is not distinct. 



Leydig also failed to find any muscle in the gland of a hedgehog 

 obtained in February. Occasionally a few shed epithelial cells are 

 present in the lumen of the acini, but true secretion is either scanty 

 or absent. 



The acinus of type "ft" has essentially the same characteristics as 

 was found in the gland previously discussed; the number of cell layers, 

 however, is much diminished, being generally from three to six. The 

 more central nuclei lack that great affinity for nuclear stains which 

 was observed in the fully active gland. As was to be expected, blood- 

 vessels are not so conspicuous. 



The glands of a young hedgehog, taken on June 13th, are not 

 fully developed. The animal evidently was not sexually mature. Histo- 

 logically the glands do not difier from those of a mature animal in 

 the "quiescent" stage, except that the acini are smaller and the lining 

 cells of the acinus of type "a" are not relatively so tall. The tubules 

 contain an abundance of secretion, but the number of extruded nuclei 



