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almost all the elementary fibres which I was enabled to trace 
throughout their extent appeared to terminate indistinctly, a 
few only showed jagged and broken ends. A small number 
of the fibres continued clear and transparent throughout their 
entire extent, but, in the majority, the interior presented more 
or less change. Lastly, in afew instances I observed a number 
of corpuscles of very peculiar and definite characters. These 
appeared to be perfectly spherical, were of a reddish-brown 
colour, and presented a well-marked edge sharply defined ; in 
their interior lay another ring, having a diameter of about two- 
thirds of that of the outer, this enclosed a body or space which 
had the appearance of being depressed, and within which lay 
a dark central spot. These bodies varied somewhat in size, 
and lay, some mixed with other histolytic elements, some free 
and isolated on the field, and others again aggregated into 
masses, but showing no trace of any investing membrane. I 
am quite ata loss to understand the nature and origin of these 
peculiar corpuscles. 
Seattered through the field lay granular masses, granular 
corpuscles, and cells; cells including numerous large corpuscles, 
formed, as it were, by endogenous growth ; and finally, various 
stellate and acicular crystals, some within cells, others free on 
the field. 
These results of the Histolysis of muscle are still very in- 
complete, yet I think they give us some indications of the 
mode in which the tissue breaks up. I may remark, inciden- 
tally, that from some of the appearances observed, I am led to 
adopt views different from those generally received, as to the 
nature of the striz, which I am disposed to consider as belong- 
ing in greater part, if not entirely, to the sarcolemma. 
In considering the chief results arrived at in the study of 
the process of putrefaction, I am led to believe— 
Ist. That concurrently with the first order of chemical 
changes, a certain order of morphic changes takes place before 
the final dissolution of organic structures, by the action of 
chemical and physical forces. 
