48 THE EMBEDDING OF THE OVUM. 



tion, lies a band varying in thickness which resembles the rests 

 of surface epithelia and extends upwards along the edge of this 

 new fibrinous cover, thus the observation described above is prac- 

 tically repeated. Again the cover becomes oblong but in this 

 instance is thicker in the middle portion, but in general does not 

 attain the length or thickness of the fibrinous cover previously 

 described. There are a few white blood cells in its middle part. 

 With section 105 this fibrin band has again disappeared, here 

 (Fig. 24 Plate XIV) the ovular chamber being cut more later- 

 ally shows a thicker wall while in the preceding sections the 

 fibrinous cover seemed to play the role of a reenforcement for 

 the ovular chamber and of a protective layer, as was clearly shown 

 in the pictures of the first mentioned larger fibrinous mass. 



Concerning a fibrinous cover (Gewebspilz) in the ovules of 

 Graf v. Spec (Kiel 1905) and of Beneke, we find the following 

 references : Van Spec says on pg. 422 : "At the site of the fun- 

 nel shaped depression the uterine tissue shows a defect which 

 must be regarded the gate through which the ovum entered the 

 endometrium during the process of implantation. This open- 

 ing is sealed by a flat blood coagulum (fibrin, containing leuco- 

 cytes and red blood cells). Thus the conditions are very sim- 

 ilar to those described by Peters. The opening which appears 

 with a diameter of not more than 0.8 mm., possibly is larger 

 than at first produced by the ovum. This increase may be due to 

 the stretching and* growth, possibly also to a histolytic action 

 of the ovular wall." 



Beneke reports on page 772: "The tissue plug (Gewebs- 

 pfropf) which closes and fills the defect in the reflexa in general 

 corresponds in its histologic structure to that described by 

 Peters. It contains blood, fibrin, leucocytes, etc." 



After this description one's attention obviously is again drawn 

 to the question of the similarities and discrepancies between mine 

 and Peters' ovum. 



Up to this point both specimens are identical in all essential 

 features. 



In both we see the decidua vera in a condition of edematous 

 infiltration. In both the ovule lies in a swollen mucosa near a 

 furrow, in both instances the ovule has penetrated into the mu- 

 cosa at a place deprived of epithelium and has pushed aside the 

 tissue and the glands so that the latter follow a meridional, 

 curved course. Over the top of the ovum the edges of the mu- 

 cosa have approached each other in an attempt to close the 

 ovular chamber completely. This process has progressed further 

 in mine than in 'Peters' specimen. In both cases on the top of 



