PROGKESS OF MICROSCOPICAL SCIENCE. 233 



and. again after it had ceased, and the results wliicli he obtained are 

 certainly in favour of the considerable modifications which he would 

 introduce into the physiology of ovulation and menstruation as pre- 

 sently received. The mucous membrane of the human uterus in the 

 " state of rest " has certain peculiarities, as pointed out by the author. 

 There is no submucous tissue, and the mucosa comes into immediate 

 union with the muscular layer. Its matrix is peculiarly rich in round 

 or spindle-shaped cells. The glands, which it is known to possess in 

 great numbers, are lined, like the free mucous siu'facc, with ciliated 

 eiiithelium. This condition is markedly altered at the monthly period 

 of uterine activity. The mucous membrane is swollen, thick, loose, 

 and almost diffluent, covered with a whitish or bloody mucus, finely 

 injected at spots, and in many cases uniformly coloured of a deep red. 

 A microscopical examination reveals increased abundance of the 

 cellular matrix, esj)ecially at the surface, with great elongation and 

 dilatation of the glands. So far there is nothing sj)ecially original 

 in the description given by Kundrat, but new and important facts 

 remain to be enumerated. He discovered in the first place, that the 

 condition of uterus just described probably i^recedes the occurrence of 

 the discharge of the ovum and — what is perhaps more striking — the 

 menstrual flow by " several days." The author considers that this 

 observation goes far to prove that the uterus is prepared for the 

 reception of the ovum a certain time before the rupture of the 

 Graafian vesicle. Again, while the rough characters remain as 

 described during the menstrual flow, with the addition of the oozing 

 from the sm-face, and for a short time after it has ceased, careful 

 examination reveals a very remarkable change in the microscopic 

 appearances. The cells of the stroma and the vessels, as well as of 

 the epithelium of the glands and surface, are dull in appearance and 

 filled with fat-granules. The question occurs. What is the relation 

 of the haBmorrhagc to this fatty degeneration of the cells and vessels ? 

 Kundrat replies by stating his belief that the hremorrhage does not 

 cause the fatty change, but is caused by it. He refers to the fatty 

 change which is known to occur at the end of pregnancy, and would 

 consider the two phenomena homologous. He also points out the 

 improbability of the cause of the flow being found in congestion, 

 as this occurs so frequently without haemorrhage. One fact he has 

 ascertained is that the fatty change is most abundant at the surface 

 of the mucosa, where the bleeding takes place. The anatomical 

 sequence of events therefore, according to Kundrat, at the monthly 

 period of uterine activity is — swelling of the mucosa, fatty chajige in the 

 cells and vessels, vascular rupture, and haemorrhage. With the blood 

 much altered epithelium is thrown off, but not the whole mucosa, 

 as some believe. It is a short time after the cessation of the menses 

 before the mucous membrane has returned to its " condition of rest." 



In inquiring now into the physiological relations of the three 

 processes — the swelling of the mucosa, the discharge of the ovum, 

 and the flow of menstrual blood — Kundrat insists strongly upon the 

 ascertained chronology of the events. The first mentioned of the 

 three is the first in order of time, and it is almost certainly the 



T 2 



