LABYRINTHINE APPARATUS OF LABYFJNTHIC FISHES. 507 



the labyrinthine apparatus under a microscope looks very 

 much like a counterpane or a stitched soft lining with edged 

 risings (fig. 10). 



The meshes of the netting with fat in them get narrower 

 and narrower the nearer they are to the cutis, and in the cutis 

 the star-like connective tissue becomes fibrous. In this fibrous 

 tissue over the groups of adipose cells one sees numerous 

 capillary vessels (figs. 8 and 9, cp.), which form very pretty 

 and characteristic braids or interweavings. These braids 

 are in relation with the risings of the adipose masses or accu- 

 mulations ; between these accumulations capillaries are not 

 observable. All the above-described accumulations or gather- 

 ings of adipose tissue have their separate arterial and venous 

 branches ; these branches rise to the surface of the accu- 

 mulation, ramify severally, and partly pass into the capillary 

 network of the cutis. Thus every part of the capillary net- 

 work, with its separate adipose accumulation, has its special 

 arterial and venous branches, and is connected with the 

 nettings of other risings only by means of these branches. 

 The capillary net of every rising has the form of a very pretty 

 rosette (figs. 11, 12). This rose looks as if composed of 

 separate petals, shaped out by the bendings of the meshes 

 of the capillaries. The capillary windings of every petal are 

 of three and seldom of four rows, wherefore the petal 

 consists of an external, middle, and interior vessel. These 

 vessels communicate on one side with the arterial branches, 

 and on the other with the venous branch, so that in every 

 petal can be observed an arterial and a venous half, or, to be 

 more precise, one half that brings in the blood, and the 

 other which lets it out from the interweavings. 



The connective tissue that lies next to the cutis somewhat 

 changes its appearance at the edges of the lamellae of the 

 labyrinthine apparatus. Here it is so swollen, and has such 

 an appearance, that it can hardly be taken for a connective 

 tissue (figs. 7 and 8, cjt. mrg.). Here it has no adipose matter; 

 its cells become much thicker, more juicy, but their offshoots 

 get so small that in sections they can be observed only when 



