BECT. 2 1 8.] STRUCTURE OF LYMPHATIC GLANDS. 



505 



Section of the cortical substance of a human inguinal 

 gland ; magnified 80 times, a. envelope of the gland ; 6. 

 four superficial vasa inferentia; c. larger alveoli of the sur- 

 face of the cortex, with the fine meshwork in their interior; 

 some with their contents; d. smaller lacunpe situated fur- 

 ther inwards ; e. partitions of the alveoli. 



whole surface of the gland, except the hilus, forms a soft, juicy 

 layer, with various shades of yellowish-white, reddish-yellow, or 

 reddish-grey, measuring, in large glands, two, two and a half, or 

 even three lines in thick- Fig. 208. 



raess. Externally, and 

 partly also upon sections, 

 it exhibits a coarsely 

 granular vesicular appear- 

 ance, almost like Peyer's 

 glands that have been 

 exposed from without. 

 This appearance, which 

 was well known to the 

 older anatomists, is pro- 

 duced by a great number 

 of greyish round bodies 

 like follicles, surrounded 

 by narrow whitish bor- 

 ders. If the structure of 

 the cortex be more narrowly inspected, it is easily seen that the 

 supposed follicles are not separate structures, like the elements of 

 a Pei/er's patch, or of a tonsil ; and it appears, indeed, that they 

 cannot be isolated from one another at all. The appearance of 

 follicles will be found to result from projections, in every direction, 

 of portions of the cortical substance, which are contained in the 

 compartments of a pretty regular frame-work. This frame-work 

 arises by a great number of thinner and thicker laminae (0*004'" 

 to o - 02"' and upwards), from the inner surface of the envelope ; 

 the laminae being so regularly connected with each other as to 

 form a fibrous network, extending through the whole cortex ; the 

 roundish polygonal spaces of this network may be called the 

 alveoli of the lymphatic glands, and they measure from -£'"to £"'in 

 diameter. In man, these alveoli are most regular in the outer- 

 most layer of the cortex, and are here for the most part distinct 

 from each other • perhaps even entirely separate, but this is diffi- 

 cult to determine ; whilst further inwards, the septa between the 

 alveoli are frequently less complete and more delicate. At least 

 as we approach the interior, the septa become still finer, and the 

 alveoli are no longer completely shut off from each other, so that 

 the cortical substance here obtains a somewhat homogeneous 

 appearance. 



With regard to the intimate structure of the cortex, the par- 



