PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN RED BLOOD-CORPUSCL KS. 115 



the passage of the glohule through the wall of the capillary, 

 hut little has been made out to show the alteratious of the 

 corpuscle or its origin and formation, or the influence of 

 vital forces on it. Of course, it may be rejoined that many 

 elucidations of the structure of bodies have been arrived at 

 by the means of reagents in a similar manner. This is true, 

 but still, probably, had some of the energy which has been 

 spent on the tracing the changes external to the body, been 

 devoted to observations on the living body, more valuable 

 information would have been yielded us. 



It is not pretended that the following remarks will clear 

 up the whole subject. They are merely a slight contribu- 

 tion to our knowledge in this direction, in which it appears 

 to tne that it is desirable that observers should continue. 



It is many years since the observations which are here 

 below recorded were made. The fiist in my note-book was 

 in the middle of 1859, the others within a year afterwards. 

 In ihe mean time the principal amount of what we know on 

 the subject of leucocytes and the red corpuscle has been 

 gained by numerous zealous inquirers, and thus the novelty 

 of the phenomena recorded in them has necessarily been 

 lessened. Yet it is hoped that, made, as they were, on cor- 

 puscles which had been for a lunger or a shorter time under 

 the influence of the vital forces, though in most instances 

 in abnormal conditions, they possess still some slight 

 value ; at any rate they are remarkably confirmatory of 

 what has been subsequently noticed under various modes of 

 investigation. 



Observation 1. — My attention was first drawn to the 

 changes in the blood-corpuscles upon observing, on June 

 17th, 1859, the fluid derived from an ovarian cyst. It was 

 of a kind very commonly found in that growth, namely, of a 

 dark cofiee colour. It was examined shortly after, and the 

 diff'erent bodies depicted in PL VIII, fig. l,were found in it. 

 The changes in the red corpuscle into the " cecoid" and 

 '' zoid" of Briicke are very plainly seen in all stages. First 

 of all, the oecoid is indicated by a transparent centre, and 

 then it is to be seen in all stages of extension from one side 

 or the other. It will be seen, however, that the oecoid is not 

 always single; sometimes it is double, one being extruded 

 from each pole of the red corpuscle. In employing Briicke's 

 two names for the stroma and this clear colourless material, 

 I do so the more easily to distinguish them, not pledging 

 myself as agreeing necessarily with his explanation. 



But what was the most interesting in this observation was 

 this, that the small oecoid was set free, and found floating 



