ELAPHOMYCES. 



[ 277 ] ELASTIC LIGAMENTS. 



elegant microscopic scales. See HAIRS, and 

 HIPPOPHAE. 



ELAPHOMY'CES, Nees. A genus of 

 Tuberacei (Ascomycetous Fungi) consist- 

 ing of subterraneous truffle-like plants, with 

 a warty or hairy rind, not bursting sponta- 

 neously, but divided into little chambers 

 internally by intersecting plates of sporife- 

 rous tissue. The spores are formed in sacs 

 (asci) (fig. 185), from four to eight in each, 

 arising from branched anastomosing fila- 

 ments (capillitium). Three species are 

 found in this country : E. anthracinus, 

 Vitt, in clayey ground; E. granulatus, 

 growing in heathy ground ; and E. muri- 

 catus, FT. (E. variegatus, Vitt, Tulasne), 

 attached to the rootlets of beeches. L. and 

 C. Tulasne have carefully analyzed this 

 genus. 



BIBL. Berk. Br. Fl. ii, pt. 2. 306 ; Ann. 

 N. H. vi. 430, pi. 11. fig. 10 ; L. and 0. Tu- 

 lasne, Ann. So. Nat. 2ser. xvi.p.5,pls. 1-4; 

 Hypog. Fungi, 1850 ; Vittadini, Monog. Tu- 

 ber. App. 66, &c., pis. 3 & 4 ; Berk. & Br. 

 Ann. N. H. xviii. 81. 



Fig. 184. 



Fig. 185. 



Fig. 184. Elaphomyces Mrtus. Section, nat. size. 



Fig. 185. E. variegatus. Filaments of capillitium, 

 with asci containing spores, and also loose spores 

 which have escaped. Magnified 300 diameters. 



ELASTIC LIGAMENTS. These are 



yellowish strong bands, consisting of elastic 

 or yellow fibrous tissue, with a small quan- 

 tity of connective tissue. They are met with 

 connecting the arches of the vertebrae (liga- 



menta subflava), in the stylo-hyoid and in- 

 ternal lateral ligaments of the jaw, and the 



Fig. 186. 



Transverse section of the ligamentum nucb.se of an 

 ox, after treatment with solution of caustic soda : a, 

 connective tissue, appearing transparent ; 6, section of 

 elastic fibres. Magnified 350 diameters. 



ligamentum nuchse, or <paxy-waxy,' of ani- 

 mals. They contain but few vessels, and 

 no nerves. The elastic fibres (fig. 187) are 

 from 1-7500 to 1-3500" in breadth, slightly 

 flattened (tig. 186), mixed with still finer 

 and some coarser elastic fibres, forming a 

 dense network, taking a general direction 

 parallel to the long axis of the spine. Be- 

 tween these fibres are loose undulating 



Fig. 187. 



Elastic fibres: a, from a human ligamentum snbfla- 

 Tum, with intervening connective tissue, 6. Magnified 

 450 diameters. 



bundles of connective tissue, running paral- 

 lel to the elastic fibres. 



BIBL. Kolliker, Mik. An. ii. 306, and 



