THE COLORLESS CORPUSCLES OR LEUCOCYTES 131 



marked degree; that is, it possesses the power of ingesting foreign particles. 

 Its nucleus consists of several lobes united by threads of chromatin. This 

 cell \vas formerly known under the term neutrophile, because of its supposed 

 reaction to neutral dyes. 



The coarsely granular form of eosinophile constitutes only 2 per cent, of 

 the leucocytes. It has a diameter of 12 jj. and a reniform nucleus. 



The basophile cell is rarely found in normal blood. It may occur occa- 

 sionally during periods of digestion. It is a small, spherical cell, with an 

 irregular nucleus and a diameter of 7,. 



The small hyaline leucocyte is also called a lymphocyte, because of the 

 large numbers found in adenoid tissue, and is supposed to be an immature 

 form. The nucleus is proportionally large and is surrounded by but little 



e' 



'X f 



* 



FIG. 116. (a) Red blood corpuscle for comparison; (6) small hyaline cell or lym- 

 phocyte; (c) large hyaline cell or myelocyte; (d) fine granular oxyphile; (e) coarse granular 

 oxyphile or eosinophile; (/) basophile. (F. C. Busch.) 



protoplasm in which no granules can be detected. The cell is about the 

 size of a red blood-cell and constitutes from 10 to 20 per cent, of all leucocytes. 



The large hyaline or myelocyte varies in diameter from 8.5 to IO/JL. Its 

 nucleus is spherical or reniform, and is surrounded by more protoplasm than 

 in the case of the lymphocyte. It forms about 10 per cent, of the leucocytes. 



Ameboid Movement of Leucocytes. The remarkable property of the color- 

 less corpuscles of spontaneously changing their shape was first demonstrated 

 by Wharton Jones in the blood of the skate. If a drop of blood be examined 

 with a high power of the microscope, under conditions by which loss of moist- 

 ure is prevented, and at the same time the temperature is maintained at 

 about that of the body, 37 C., the colorless corpuscles will be observed 

 slowly to alter their shapes, and to send out processes at various parts of their 



