416 RETE MUCOSUM. 



copper-colored, yellow, or tawny, in many of the Asiatics ; and 

 yollow, with a tincture of red, in the aborigines of America ; 

 while it is transparent, or whitish, in the people of Europe and 

 their descendants. 



It can therefore be best examined in the negroes ; and if it 

 be inspected immediately after the cuticle of a blister is removed, 

 it will appear as above described, with a black matter diffused 

 through it. 



The particular structure of this substance has not been ascer- 

 tained, although anatomists have paid a good deal of attention 

 to it. It is generally believed by them that no vessels can be 

 injected in it ; but Dr. Baynham of Virginia, while he was 

 engaged in anatomical pursuits in London, made a preparation 

 which excited the attention of the British anatomists, on account 

 of its particular relation to this subject. 



He injected one of the lower extremities, the os femoris of 

 which was diseased with an exostosis ; and with a view to an 

 examination of the lamina of the skin, he removed a portion of 

 it from the leg ; and after immersing it a few seconds in boiling 

 water, to thicken the lamina, he macerated it in cold water for 

 some days. Upon separating the cuticle, after this treatment, 

 he discovered a texture of vessels on the surface of the cutis 

 vera, which was distinct from the cutis itself. This has often 

 been mentioned as injection of the rete mucosum. 



It is to be regretted that Dr. Baynham, who is particularly- 

 qualified to decide, has pot published his opinion on the sub- 

 ject. Mr. Cruikshank, to whom he afforded the most satisfac- 

 tory opportunity of examining his preparation, believes that 

 the aforesaid vessels were not a part of the rete mucosum ; 

 but that the rete mucosum was to be seen on the epidermis, 

 (being raised with it when it was separated from the cutis,) 

 while this texture remained on the surface of the cutis. He 

 considers these vessels as belonging to the additional lamellae 

 already mentioned, of which he says Dr. Baynham is the dis- 

 coverer. 



There is therefore every reason to believe that there is a 

 texture of vessels, either in the ret 3 mucosum, or between the 

 cutis vera and the rete mucosum. 



