JOURNAL OF MICROSCOPICAL SCIENCE. 
DESCRIPTION OF PLATES III & IV, 
Illustrating the Notice of Professor Max Schultze’s paper on 
the Structure and Physiology of the Retina. 
PLATE III. 
Fig. 
1.—Diagrammatic view of a section of the retina through the macula lutea 
and fovea centralis magnified about 110 diam. 
2. The optic nerve layer. 
h, Layer of ganglion-cells. 
g. The molecular layer. 
J: Tuner granule layer. 
a—d, Outer granule layer; the outer part of which contains the 
rod and cone granules, and the inner is almost entirely fibrous. 
a. The membrana limitans externa. 
b—c. Layer of “ rods” and,“ cones.” 
p. Pigment. 
The layers from a to ¢ are accurately copied from a section through 
a normal human retina, whose relief, however, towards the vitreous 
humour was altered in consequence of the commencement of the 
formation of a plica centralis, which, as is well known, makes its 
appearance at the macula lutea very soon after death. But the 
figure, as it stands, represents the macula lutea without the plica, 
and, consequently, in the condition which it would present during 
life. The bacillary layer was also very well preserved in the same 
preparation, so that in this respect also the figure very fairly repre- 
sents the natural condition; but the pigment was no longer attached 
to the percipient elements, and, consequently, in orderto complete the 
figure, that part has been introduced from other preparations. Under 
these circumstances, also, the representation of the cones in the 
fovea as it is here given has, of course, been taken from other speci- 
mens. Although in the one first mentioned, as well as in several 
others, in which the central plica was already formed, it was pos- 
sible to determine the increased length of the cones in the fovea, as 
compared with those in the immediate vicinity of it, still, owing to 
the absence of the pigmentary layer, no criterion was afforded of 
the absolute length of the coues in the living state. But this is 
afforded in the preparation represented in Fig. 2. 
2.—Represents a section throngh the macula lutea and fovea centralis, 
taken from an eye hardened in Miiller’s fluid, and which had been 
extirpated in consequence of staphyloma. x 180 diam, and drawn 
with the camera lucida. Letters as above. 
The inner layers of the retina are not represented in detail, as they 
were in a state of advanced atrophy. The cones were quite perfect, 
and remained in close connection with the pigmentary layer in which 
they were ensheathed at the choroidal extremity. 
