616 MURIKL ROF.BRTSOX AND K. A. .MINCHIN. 



blepharoplasts ; but before proceeding to the detailed account 

 of our observations it will be useful to give a brief resume 

 of previous work on this subject. For this we have relied 

 chiefly on the excellent summaries given by Wilson (20) and 

 Erhard (3). 



The most convincing and abundant evidence of the identical 

 nature of blepharoplasts and centrosomes has come from the 

 study of spermatogenesis in animals and plants. These re- 

 searches have been summarised by Wilson and Erhard, and 

 it will be suflficient here to refer specially to the memoirs of 

 Henneguy (7) on the spermatogenesis of Borabyx mori, etc., 

 and of Belajeft"(l) on that of Gy mnogramme and Marsilia 

 spp. Henneguy found, as we have done, the blepharoplast 

 (in this case a diplosome in the true sense of the word) 

 acting as a centrosome in the mitosis while still preserving its 

 function as a blepharoplast. Similarly Belajeff found that 

 the body which acted as a centrosome in the mitosis became 

 subsequently the blepharoplast. 



In the case of tissue-cells other than spermatocytes in 

 Metazoa, the relation of Hagella and cilia to bodies of cen- 

 trosomic nature has been studied by Joseph (9a), in whose 

 memoir will be found verv full references to the work of 

 others. Joseph's researches have led him to support very 

 definitely the theory of Lenhossek and Henneguy, according 

 to which the basal corpuscles of the cilia arise from the cen- 

 trosome; and in his conclusions he states (I.e., p. 71) : "Viele, 

 vielleicht alle eingeisseligeu Zellen sind Centralgeisselzellen, 

 d. h. ihr Geisselfaden steht in Verbindung mit dem Cen- 

 trosom." Erhard (3) has reviewed the whole question in the 

 light of renewed investigations, and comes to the following 

 conclusions: "DasDiplosom in Flimmerzellen als Teilungs- 

 organ wirkt, alsoein echtes Centrosom darstellt. . . . Die 

 ausserordentliche Seltenheit von Mitosen in Flimmerzellen 

 darauf schliessen lasst, dass die Diplosomen in allgemeinen 

 eine andve Rolle als die der Teilung auszufiillen haben. 



Zwischeu Basalkorpern und Centrosomen keinerlei 

 Beziehungen bestehen . . . die Basalkorpern an der 



