428 J. E. BLOMFIELD. 
spermatoblast, there is often a nucleus, which can be distin- 
guished by its slightly irregular shape, and from its being 
elongated in the direction of the spermatoblast, but he gives 
no account of the origin or fate of this nucleus. 
The spaces between the processes of the “ Keimnetz” are 
filled up with cells of various sizes and in various states of 
multiplication. These he regards not as in any way con- 
cerned with the formation of the spermatozoa, but only 
present to assist the growth by supply of nutritive material 
to the young spermatozoa ; and he traces their origin to their 
having wandered from the lymph spaces of the testis. As 
regards their fate, he believes that they form the coagulated 
particles, or ‘‘ Kiweisskugeln,” which are to be found in the 
lumen of the tubule of a ripe testis. Sometimes these bodies 
contain crumpled-up semilunar nuclei. 
It is obvious from this that part of the ‘‘ Keimnetz”’ cor- 
responds to my testicular epithelium, the outer seminal cells 
of Klein, and the “ Ursamenzellen ” of other writers ; more- 
over, the two kinds of cells which Klein mentions as being 
in an active or passive condition, according to the condition 
of the nucleus, are here clearly indicated. 
As regards his spermatoblast, he says that, as far as his 
observations went, it arose without any division of a nucleus, 
but in this I believe he will be found to be mistaken. And 
it is my opinion that the nucleus at the base, and the nuclei, 
as he says, newly formed at the other end, are due to a 
division of one cell... 
As regards the cells which lie in the meshes of the net- 
work, and which, he thinks, are only of use for the nourish- 
ment of the spermatozoa, the opinion of almost every other 
writer is that they are concerned in the formation of the 
spermatozoa and represent various stages of the process. 
These are the inner seminal cells of Kiein, the Spermato- 
gemme and Samenknospen of v. la Valette St. George, and 
the idea that they form the “ Eiweisskugeln,” and similar 
bodies found in the lumina of the tubules, is untenable. 
I think these bodies will be found to owe their origin to 
the breaking up of blastophoral cells which, as in the frog, 
after the spermatozoa are ripe and have dropped from their 
supports, themselves are thrown off and undergo fatty dege- 
neration. 
It may be mentioned that he considers the middle piece 
to arise from the same consolidation of plasma as the 
nucleus. | 
In the ‘ Archiv fiir Mikr. Anatomie,’ vol. xviii, p. 233, 
Prof. Flemming has a paper in continuation of his researches 
