NOTES ON STRUCTURE, ETC., OF ELEPHANTS PLACENTA. 11 
It is in this region C, if anywhere, that one would expect 
to find a trace of uterine glands and other undoubted 
maternal tissue. We cannot, however, offer any evidence 
of the presence of glandular epithelial cells, or indeed of 
other maternal tissues, except blood cells. 
The transition from region B to region C is sudden, 
and forms a very striking feature. The connection between 
the foetal trunks in B and those in C is quite clear. Here 
and there it is possible to trace main foetal trunks giving 
off foliaceous branches in region B, and passing into 
region © and giving off the more lobate terminations in 
the latter layer. ‘These terminations, as well as the main 
trunks, have a tendency to lie horizontally, that is to say 
parallel with the lines separating region B from region C, 
and in between these we find layers of coagulum mixed 
with blood corpuscles and cell detritus. 
We regard this space as an irregular cavity or series of narrow 
chinks filled with blood which bathes the terminations of the 
villi directly in some places, but at other points it is separated 
from the trophoblast layer of the villi by the remains of a 
curious homogeneous material, whose nature we discuss in our 
Section II. upon a half-term placenta. 
In fig. 3 some of these points are illustrated. The larger 
foetal trunks are shown at /.b., the smaller branches at f.c. 
The investing columnar epithelium (ér.) is seen to be drawn 
away from the villi in most places, though their relation to 
the villi is clearly proved by the general distribution of the 
epithelium and by the position of the nuclei in the cells, which 
lie close to the foetal border. ‘lhe opposite border of the 
cells has a marked tendency to adhere to the coagulum, which 
fills up most of the space between the several villi. 
This coagulum is partly of a reticulate nature, and is 
probably true blood clot, but other parts are more solid ana 
contain remains of oval nuclei, and are to be regarded as of 
either trophoblastic or maternal origin or of double origin, as 
will be shown under Section Il. fig. 3 illustrates the 
difference between coagulum and detritus. 
