184 ORGANS OF SENSE. 



ments in the course of these fibres, analogous to those 

 of the nerve fibres of the retina. 



The capillary network formed by the blood-vessels 

 of the cochlea is equally rich with that of the vesti- 

 bule and semicircular canals. 



SECT. III. OLFACTORY Mucous MEMBRANE. The 

 mucous lining of the nasal cavities is thick, soft, 

 tomentose, and reddish in color, especially in its in- 

 ferior two-thirds. Its texture is composed of inter- 

 woven fibres connective and elastic but the pro- 

 portion of the latter is small ; it contains likewise 

 an abundance of plasmatic cells. Its deeper surface is 

 intimately adherent to the periosteum, and contains 

 a great number of mucous follicles, in clusters. Its 

 free surface is covered by stratified epithelium, and 

 its superficial layer of conical cells is provided with 

 cilia. Its vessels are exceedingly numerous, and form 

 a web of unusual thickness. The nervous filaments 

 furnished by the fifth pair are distributed throughout 

 its whole extent, and present nothing worthy of note, 

 but those which come from the olfactory nerve are 

 distributed only to the mucous membrane covering 

 the superior turbinated bone, and the upper third of 

 the septum between the nostrils; moreover, they 

 apparently end by free extremities. According to 

 some authors they present globular enlargements at 

 their extremities, similar to those of the retina. 



THE END. 



