THUKAD-CELLS AND EPIDEIIMIS OF MYXINE, 359- 



towards the periphery^ giving the whole the appearance of 

 a spider. 



In some specimens, however, which had been placed in 

 alcohol without previous treatment with chromic acid, the 

 appearance presented by these cells was different. For then 

 they seemed to be filled with a coarsely granular material, 

 exceedingly greedy of the carmine of the picrocarmine,so that 

 they quickly became stained of a bright pink hue, in which 

 it was impossible to make out the presence or absence of a 

 nucleus (see fig. 8 e). This difference in the cells, accord- 

 ing to their previous treatment, seems to show that they 

 contain a liquid material, which is precipitated by alcohol, 

 but not by chromic acid or Miiller's fluid. If these cells cor- 

 respond to the granular cells (cellules granuleuses) of 

 PetromyzoUj one would expect to find processes from them 

 towards the dermis, but this I have not been able to do. As 

 regards the function of these cells, I am in no better posi- 

 tion than M. Foettinger to offer suggestions ; but from the 

 behaviour of similar cells in the glands, which will be con- 

 sidered in the sequel, it seems probable that they contribute 

 some part to the mucus, possibly the more liquid portions of 

 that secretion. 



The Lateral Glands of Myxine. 



Myxine is characterised by the large amount of mucus 

 which it is capable of ejecting, so that it has earned the 

 specific name of " glutiuosa," a term, the appropriateness of 

 which may be judged by the fact that two individuals thrown 

 into a bucket of water are capable of gelatinising the whole 

 with their secretion. This secretion comes from a series of 

 glands which are placed on each side the body, and open by 

 a series of pores, easily seen on the exterior. Each gland 

 lies beneath the dermis, embedded in the subcutaneous 

 tissue, and having the lateral bands of muscle on its inner 

 side, which are pushed inwards by the distended gland, and 

 appear capable of exercising an influence in ejecting the 

 contents, though to what extent this is actually the case it 

 is hard to say in the absence of direct experiment. 



These glands are to be regarded as solid involutions of 

 the integument in which the epidermic cells have acquired a 

 more specialised structure in connection with the production 

 of mucus. They are lined by a fibrous wall, which, in sections 

 of a small and young gland, appears to be composed of several 

 layers, though in the fully-developed organ the layers are 

 fused into one. Resting on the wall and filling the gland 

 are the peculiar yellow cells, the characteristic elements of 



