PROGEESS OF MICEOSCOPICAL SCIENCE. 233 



cells with miiltiple nuclei, or in the act of division, were most rare. 

 When the wound was left to itself, the formation of epithelium took 

 place at the periphery, thence advancing toward the centre. Yet, 

 when this was prevented by the removal, in a granulating wound of 

 the hard palate of the dog, of all the peripheral tissue, including the 

 periosteum, the formation of central islets of epithelium was not pre- 

 vented. The same results were obtained in wounds upon the scalp of 

 the dog. — Yirchow's Archiv, Vol. XL VII., Part II. 



What is tlie Use of the Spleen ? — This question is, we fear, yet un- 

 answered, though Signer Bacelli has attempted its solution. He 

 observes that in the intermissions of the first attacks of malarial fever 

 there is frequently a great inci-ease of appetite, which, however, is 

 soon followed by a gastric catarrh, leading to a very comj)lete loss of 

 digestive power (known even to Celsus) for albuminous compounds. 

 His researches have led him to believe that the increase of appetite at 

 the commencement of the disease is due to simple hyperasmia of the 

 spleen ; whilst the disturbance of digestive power, occurring after 

 repeated attacks, was attributable to the persistent hyperfemia of the 

 organ producing physiological disturbance of its functions. The large 

 veins of the spleen, he points out, are destitute of valves, and pass, 

 imbedded in the pancreas, and therefore imbedded in the stomach, 

 and in front of the spinal column, to the liver, so that the blood only 

 traverses them unimpeded when the stomach is empty ; whilst, when 

 the stomach is full, the blood current is more or less completely 

 arrested. During digestion, physiological enlargement of the spleen 

 occurs ; and, partly owing to the contractility of the organ, and jiartly 

 to the pressure by the stomach on its veins, its blood is returned by 

 the vasa brevia and coronary veins. But he has found that from the 

 splenic pulp, and from its venous blood, a juice can be obtained con- 

 taining pepsine, and cajiable of digesting coagulated albumen. The 

 spleen, he is therefore disposed to think, prepares from the disinte- 

 grated albuminates of the blood-corpuscles the pepsine that is after- 

 wards secreted by the glands of the stomach. The hyperaemia of the 

 spleen occurring at the commencement of the malarial intoxication 

 occasions an increased secretory activity of the gastric peptic glands, 

 and thus accoimts for the increased ajipetite observed at this period-; 

 but, at a later stage of the disease, the persistence of the hyperasmia 

 causes stasis of the blood in the swollen spleen, accompanied by a 

 kind of paralysis or functional disturbance, and the patient is no 

 longer capable of digesting albuminoid food. 



The Range in Time of the Foraminifera. — At a late meeting of the 

 Geologists' Association (March 3rd, 1871) Professor T. Eupert Jones, 

 F.G.S., read a paper on the above subject. The paj)er (says the 

 ' Geological Magazine ' for April) was preceded by an interesting viva 

 voce recapitulation of the more noticeable features of the Porcellanous 

 (imperforate), the Hyaline (perforate), and the Arenaceous, Foramini- 

 fera, the more important genera of which groups were illustrated by 

 a fine series of diagrams. The variations of form of the Foraminifera 

 are innumerable, and it is extremely difficult to construct satisfactory 



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