82 TRANSVERSELY STRIPED MUSCULAR FIBRES. 



of being most admirably brought into view by the action of a dilute 

 solution of soda. 



A concentrated solution of potash causes the primitive bundles 

 to swell and become transparent, rendering the transverse striation 

 less distinct. Its prolonged action causes the disintegration of the 

 bundles into parallelepipeds, and renders the transverse striae less 

 distinct, and only to be detected by the appearance of parallel 

 rows of granules ; here and there longitudinal striae may be seen, 

 which, in conjunction with the granules of the transverse striae, 

 form necklace-like filaments, such as Mulder and Bonders have 

 already noticed. Nuclei are not always to be observed, or in 

 every kind of flesh ; but wherever they occur, they are observed to 

 be much swollen, rather oval than fusiform, and granulated. On 

 the addition of water everything is dissolved, with the exception of 

 portions of the sarcolemma, which are reduced in their trans- 

 verse diameter, and the nuclear fibres. 



When a very dilute solution of potash or soda is allowed to 

 flow over a fresh preparation under the microscope, the muscular 

 bundles become much swollen, the transverse striation disappears, 

 a partly filamentous and partly granular mass projects from the 

 sarcolemma, whilst, as Kolliker observed, the nuclei are simul- 

 taneously brought into view. The nuclei commonly swell very 

 considerably, become roundish, gradually lose their clear outline, 

 and finally altogether disappear. 



An aqueous solution of iodine imparts an intense yellow colour 

 to the primitive bundles, and more frequently causes the longi- 

 tudinal striae to appear than any other reagent; it does not, 

 however, cause the tranverse striae wholly to disappear, but often 

 renders them somewhat less distinct. 



Fragments of muscle which have been repeatedly washed with 

 distilled water, and exposed to strong pressure, either entirely lose 

 their transverse striation, or show only faint indications of it, 

 whilst the longitudinal striation is peculiarly visible. If these 

 muscular bundles, after being rinsed with water, are treated with a 

 very concentrated solution of chloride of calcium, the transverse 

 striae are often brought very prominently into view ; the primitive 

 bundles increase transversely; the terminal surfaces of the torn 

 primitive bundles are very irregular, and do not correspond either 

 with the transverse or the longitudinal striations ; most of them 

 have a digital form with convex ends, as if the soft mass of the 

 fibrils had been compressed by the swelling of the sarcolemma, 

 and had somewhat protruded from it. The sarcolemma and nuclei 



