44 ELEMENTARY TISSUES. 



lymphatics. The cells composing it are nourished by ab- 

 sorption of nutrient matter from the tissues on which they 

 rest ; and as they grow old they are cast off and replaced 

 by new cells from beneath. The origin of these new cells, 

 whether they are the offspring of pre-existing epithelial 

 cells, or a new generation begotten in some other way, is 

 still a matter of doubt. 



Areolar, Cellular, or Connective Tissue. 



This tissue, which has received various names according 

 to the qualities which seemed most important to the authors 

 who have described it, is met with in some form or other in 

 every region of the body ; the areolar tissue of one dis- 

 trict being, directly or indirectly, continuous with that of 



Fig. 8.* 



all others. In most parts of the body this structure 

 contains fat, but the quantity of the latter is very variable, 



* Fig. 8. Filaments of areolar tissue, in larger and smaller bundles, 

 as seen under a magnifying power of 400 diameters. Two or three 

 corpuscles are represented among them (Sharpey). 



