ADJUNCTS OF THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM. 97 



part to play, as, perhaps, in the intestinal villosities ; and here 

 they may possibly have some share in the labor of absorp- 

 tion ; they may, besides, by being filled with fat, serve as a 

 reservoir for this substance, as in the panniculus adiposus 

 (subcutaneous areolar tissue) of a child. But in general the 

 globular element of the connective tissue takes an important 

 part only in pathological phenomena, when, under the influ- 

 ence of a more or less direct excitation, it proliferates and gives 

 rise to the production of pus and various new formations. 



Even in the case of the connective tissues which have the 

 fewest plasmatic globules, the latter, in pathological conditions, 

 are largely developed. When the aponeuroses, for instance, 

 are the seat of suppurations, we find them transformed, by 

 proliferation of the plasmatic cells, into a simple mass of glob- 

 ules. The fewer plasmatic cells there are in a connective tis- 

 sue, the less tendency it shows to change under the influence 

 of pathological causes ; thus the tendons, which are compar- 

 atively poor in globular elements, are slow to yield to the 

 process of suppuration. 



The globular element of the connective tissue, properly so 

 called, as well as of its derivatives (collagenous tissue, bones, 

 cartilage, etc.), being important only in pathology, may 

 be almost disregarded in physiology. In respect to the 

 organs which are formed essentially of these tissues, we 

 need, therefore, consider only some of their physical proper- 

 ties and mechanical uses, which are due to the nature of the 

 fundamental substance in which the plasmatic cells are im- 

 bedded. 



These physical properties are very different from each 

 other, and are sometimes antagonistic, though found in very 

 similar forms of connective tissue : as, for instance, the rigid- 

 ity of the boneS) and the elasticity of the ligaments. 



The Bones. The bones are formed of lamellaa, enclosed 

 one within another, imbedded in calcareous salts, and sur- 

 round canals containing the spinal cord. This latter, 

 formed almost entirely of embryonic globules, must be con- 

 sidered as living, unless the globules have completely passed 

 into the state of fatty degeneration. In a purely physiologi- 

 cal point of view, however, the bony lamellae show scarcely 

 any trace of life. It is true that the bones contain, in the 

 calcareous lamellaa, some globular elements (such as bony 

 corpuscles, bony cells) which are similar to the plasmatic glob- 

 ules (Fig. 24) ; but there is little evidence of their receiving 

 nutrition, and they are of importance only in pathology. It 



7 



