28 



maglie pin serrati di una rete generale, che intiinamente involge e 

 confipenetia i tessuti, per meglio localizzare e precusare gli stimoli 

 periferici ?" 



Thus, according to this view an unbroken series of anastomoses 

 must be traceable in numerous* varieties of free endings from the 

 rete aniielinica on the one side to the tactile corpuscles inserted in 

 a rete intrapapillare on the other. 



It would perhaps be premature to consider this highly pregnant 

 hypothesis as proven. Still, undoubtedly it is erjually true that anyone 

 who will take the trouble to look into the literature, will tind 

 attestations from other authors also pointing unmistakably in the 

 same direction. It is evident that the border-lines demarcating the 

 various forms of end-organs, classified into various groups, are by 

 no means established. Nearly coeval with the study of the end- 

 organs itself are the efforts to establish a phylogenetic pedigree of 

 the various end-organs, in which the intricate forms are reduced to 

 more primitive types (Mkhkel, Krause, and others). Certain it is 

 also that the more forms are brought to light by modern researchers, 

 the more the border-lines between the various grouj)S are fading out. 



With this we are impressed forthwith when looking at the illus- 

 trations accompanying the several publications (see e.g. Ceccherelli ') 

 V. D. Vki.de). ') The leading modern authors (Botezat, Dogiel, 

 Sfameni and followers of Ruffini) endeavour to demonstrate anasto- 

 moses between the various endings. Dogikl*) says in his article 

 about nerve-endings in the external genitalia: "Wenn wir die Be- 

 schreibung der Nervenendigungen in den verschiedenen Nerven- 

 apparaten, den Genitalkörperchen, den Endkolben und den Meissner- 

 schen Köiperchen, welche in der Haut der ausseren Genitalorgane 

 gelegen sind; vergleichen, und zugleich die beigegebencn Zeichnungen 

 betrachten, so mussen wir zu dem Schluss kommen, dasz zwischen 

 ihnen kein wesentlicher Unterschied besteht". 



Sfameni ') also describes the relationsliip between the genital cor- 

 puscles and Krause's end-bulbs, Golgi-Mazzoni's corpuscles and 

 Vater-Pacini's corpuscles on the one side and Ruffini's corpuscles 

 on the other. 



Botezat ") has written a long and comprehensive paper on the 

 system and the interrelationship of the nerve-endorgans. 



1) Intern. Monatschr. XXV 1908. 



») Intern. Mon. XXVI 1909. 



8) Arch. Micr. Anat. XLl. 



*) Arch, di fisiol. I 1904. 



«) Zeitsch. Wiss. Zool. LXXXIV. 1906. 



