OVUM-LIKE BODIES IN THE TESTIS 5G1 



iferous tubules and haemorrhage into the himma of the tubules 

 has resulted. 



Account of the Ovum -like Structures in the 

 Seminiferous Tubules and a Discussion as to 

 their Nature. 



We have already referred to the remarkable ovum-like bodies 

 invested by epithelial cells which occur in the lumina of many 

 of the more degenerate seminiferous tubules. Two of the more 

 typical cases will now be described. 



A. (PI. 19, fig. 7) Two of these structures are present in 

 the lumen of a single tubule. The outline is very sharply 

 marked by a dark ring well seen in the lower specimen, showing 

 that the refractive index is higher than that of the surrounding 

 tissue. Both bodies are composed of concentric layers sharply 

 demarcated and apparently homogeneous. In the lower speci- 

 men there are three such layers. The innermost is the most 

 deeply stained and surrounds a paler central area. Each 

 primary ring is subdivided into faintly marked secondary rings. 

 Only two primary rings are visible in the second body. In 

 both bodies the central area is paler and less homogeneous than 

 the rings. 



The investing cells are very degenerate. They are indis- 

 tinctly delimited and the nuclei appear as deeply-stained 

 structureless masses of vague outline. Syncitial strands con- 

 nect the investing cells with those lining the tubule. 



The epithelium of the tubule is somewhat less degenerate 

 than is usually the case. The peripheral cells, presumably 

 spermatogonia, display distinct though structureless nuclei. 

 The cytoplasm, however, shows no definite outline, but coalesces 

 in neighbouring cells and tends to spread out into the lumen. 

 Most of the more central cells have disappeared except at those 

 points where a syncitium connects the investing cells with the 

 wall of the tubule. This is significant. It should also be noted 

 that as a rule the more central the position of the cell the greater 

 is its degeneration. 



B. Only one body is present in the tubule. This specimen 



