390 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [Nov. 



periphery they become much smaller and gradually dis- 

 appear as they reach the margin. 



Similar small bodies, of the same reaction, are also 

 found in the anterior and posterior horns of the gray sub- 

 stance; likewise in the nerve trunks as they leave the 

 spinal cord, where they rapidly diminish in number and 

 size. Within the gray substance they follow the course 

 of the nerve fibres which traverse it, but are distributed 

 far more sparingly and irregularly than within the white 

 columns. 



Referring to the distribution of the red masses thus 

 far described, I must not fail to remark that among the 

 many methods of demonstrating them, which I shall 

 detail below, there are very few which show the entire 

 distribution of these masses. The glycerin-ether mix- 

 ture is the means peculiarly adapted for the demonstra- 

 tion of mucin bodies. By most other methods, the small 

 and less markedly stained bodies are lost to view and only 

 a limited number of them remain, varying in the different 

 preparations. In a complete demonstration, it can be 

 shown that the mucin constituents make up a surprisingly 

 large proportion of a transverse section of the cord, prob- 

 ably over one-third. It is a difficult matter to describe 

 the form of these bodies; and to do so carefully would 

 carry us beyond the scope of this article. I think the 

 reader can obtain an adequate idea of their apjjearance 

 if he takes variously-shaped slips of red silk-paper and 

 by irregularly folding and concentrically rolling them, 

 shape them into small rods. Then let him cut them into 

 pieces of varying size. Some of these pieces will remain 

 compact, others will partly enroll and resemble shell- 

 like, laminated structures, with irregular processes; still 

 others will fall apart into very thin membranes, hollow 

 rods and small flat shavings. All such forms are pres- 

 ent in the greatest variety and abundance — rounded, 

 large and small, apparently solid lumps; likewise hollow 



