46 



that while the nerves and ganglia have been found in the. 

 connective and submucous tissue in the notch of the pig's 

 kidney, and in the same situation in the child, they have not 

 been found in connection with the tubular structure of these 

 kidneys, but in those of the frog and newt. The elements 

 of general physiology, however, show most conclusively that 

 except there be some fundamental difference in function, 

 structural arrangements which hold good in the organs of 

 one animal hold good in the corresponding organ of another. 

 Now, we not only have no such fundamental difference in 

 the function of the kidney of man, the frog, and newt, but 

 the structure, so far as the acknowledged secreting elements 

 are concerned, is almost identical ; and the arrangement of 

 the tubules and capillaries in the organs of these lower ani- 

 mals has been of invaluable service in determining the true 

 anatomy of the human kidney. With equal propriety, then, 

 may the arrangement and the distribution of the nerves in 

 the same organs be used to determine more delicate points in 

 the anatomy of the human kidney. 



The Minute Structure of the Human Umbilical Cord. 

 By Dr. K. KoESTER.^ 



[Abstract.f 



In a short historical introduction Dr. Koster recapitulates 

 some of the views which have been taken of connective 

 tissue in general, and of tissue such as that of the umbilical 

 cord in particular. The peculiar interest of this structure 

 lies in the fact that it is nourished without any proper 

 vascular system. Virchow, who first showed the identity of 

 bone-, cartilage-, and connective-tissue-corpuscles, was also 

 the first to suggest that these bodies, with their prolongations, 

 formed an anastomosing system of channels by which nutri- 

 ment is conveyed. These views were energetically opposed by 

 Henle and, to some extent, by Kolliker, and a long contro- 

 versy arose, to which a new direction was given by the 

 researches of Recklinghausen.^ 



Thisobserver regarded the anastomosing system of channels 

 not as formed by prolongations of the connective tissue cor- 



' 'Die feinere Structur dcr Menschlichen Nabel Sclinur. Inaugural- 

 Dissertation von Dr. K. Koster.' Wiirzburg, 1868. 



' Prepared by Dr. Frank Payne, Lecturer on Pathology, St. Mary's 

 Medical Scliool, London. 



^ "Die Lympiigefasse und ilire Beziehung zum Bindegewebe," 'Vir- 

 chow's Archiv,' Bd. 28. Berlin, 18G2. 



