84: LECTURE III. 



begun to be mooted in various quarters, we should have 

 to regard the bundle, in which a whole series of fibre- 

 cells is contained, rather as analogous to a transversely 

 striated primitive fasciculus. Until, however, this point 

 has been satisfactorily settled, I consider it advisable and 

 more in accordance with known facts to regard each 

 fibre-cell as the equivalent of a primitive fasciculus. 

 Should, however, any change of opinion shortly occur, 

 you will now at any rate be prepared for it. 



In one of these spindle-shaped or fibre- cells it is diffi- 

 cult to distinguish anything particular. In very large 

 cells of this kind, and with a high magnifying power, we 

 can certainly frequently distinguish a fine longitudinal 

 striation (Fig. 5, b), so that it looks as if here, too, fibrils 

 of some sort were disposed lengthways in the interior, 

 whilst ordinarily no trace of any transverse striae is per- 

 ceptible. Yet the pale, smooth muscles exhibit, chemi- 

 cally speaking, a pretty close agreement with the trans- 

 versely striped ones, since a similar substance (the 

 so-called Syntonian of Lehmann) can, by the help of di- 

 luted hydrochloric acid, be extracted from both ; and 

 one of the most characteristic substances which is met 

 with in red muscles, namely Creatine, is met with also, 

 according to the investigations of G. Siegmund, in the 

 smooth muscular fibres of the uterus. 



One of the preparations of red muscle which I have 

 placed before you exhibits an appearance which is also 

 pathologically interesting ; among the fasciculi, namely, 

 is one which presents the condition of the so-called pro- 

 gressive (fatty) atrophy. The degenerated fasciculus is 

 smaller and narrower, and at the same time little 

 fat-globules are seen arranged in rows between the lon- 

 gitudinal fibrils (Fig 23, d). Atrophy in muscles is 

 chiefly characterized by a diminution in the diameter of 

 the primitive fasciculi affected ; in fatty atrophy the 



