AREOLAR TISSUE. 115 



velopment are rendered smooth, become distinctly and indivi- 

 dually discernible, and assume their waving course; in short, 

 they acquire the appearance of the ordinary fibres of areolar 

 tissue. (See the figure.) As the process of splitting advances 

 from both sides towards the nucleus, the fibres in its neigh- 

 bourhood are those which arc longest united together, and 

 that part of the cell is the last to undergo division. The 

 nucleus remains for a time lying upon the fasciculus of 

 fibres ; and when it is at last absorbed, we have a bundle of 

 fibres in the place of the original cell. The figure repre- 

 sents a nucleated cell, which is elongated at the upper end 

 into the characteristic fibres of areolar tissue, each one being 

 individually perceptible ; the upper part of the body of this 

 cell has also begun to split into fibres. With regard to 

 the elongation downwards, it is not possible to distinguish 

 whether there are separate fibres yet formed, and collected into 

 a cord, or whether it is still merely a simple prolongation of 

 the cell. 



It now becomes a question how the elongation of the 

 cells into fibres, and their division, and at a later period 

 the splitting of the body of the cell also into more minute 

 fibres, can be conceived to take place. "We have already 

 observed a prolongation of the cells into fibres in several in- 

 stances, and have traced it minutely in the stellated pigment- 

 cells. The onlv difference between them and the fibre-cells of 

 areolar tissue is, that in the latter, the elongation generally 

 takes place in two opposite directions only, a circumstance 

 which also frequently occurs with pigment-cells j whilst, on the 

 other hand, the cells of areolar tissue also frequently become 

 elongated into fibres on several sides ; see, for example, pi. Ill, 

 fig. 8. There is often a striking resemblance in form between 

 some of the cells of areolar tissue and those of pigment; com- 

 pare, for instance, pi. Ill, fig. 6 a, with pi. II, fig. Se. Analogy 

 would lead us to regard those fibres as hollow; but since the 

 cell-contents are not so characteristic in them as they are in 

 the pigment-cells, a cavity might really exist, but not fall 

 under observation, in consequence of the minuteness of the 

 fibre ; the appearance of the fibres, therefore, proves nothing, 

 either in favour of or against their hollowness. Since, however, 

 we are already acquainted with many extremely minute hollow 



