ORGANS OF THE BODY. 



413 



tube to a certain ex'.ent. This variety, in the demarcation of the forma- 

 tions in question, is explained by the changeable nature of reticular 

 connective substance. 



We are now met by the questions, whence come these lymph tubes ? 

 what is their origin, and what becomes of them ? 



It is comparatively easy to recognise the origin of the lymph-tubes 

 from the follicles (fig. 



405). They spring from ^ ^^ ^^.^^ % 



the under surface of the 

 latter (d, e), and it ap- 

 pears always several of 

 them together. The sus- 

 tentacular matter of the 

 follicle becomes the band- 

 ed network of the lymph- 

 tube, and the blood-vessel 

 of the latter enters the 

 follicle at this point. At 

 this under surface the 

 septal system is very fre- 

 quently extremely imper- 

 fect ; com p. fig. 401. 



Passing on now to the 

 consideration of the se- 

 cond question, namely, 

 What becomes of the 

 lymph, tubes 1 nothing 

 would seem more natural 

 bearing in mind the parallelism of the latter with the blood-vessels 

 than that they should converge towards the hilus of the organ, forming 

 eventually by their confluence, and on separating from the latter, the 

 vas efferens ; and, indeed, this utterly incorrect view of the state of parts 

 has been put forward by some. More accu- 

 rate observation, however, of the medullary 

 portion of the gland convinces us that no 

 such thing takes place, but that the net- 

 work of the tubes, just as it took its rise 

 on the one hand from follicles, so is it on 

 the other hand continuous (subject to many 

 variations certainly) with other follicles 

 (fig. 401). Consequently, in this highly 

 developed reticular arrangement of the 

 lymph tubes of the medullary substance, 

 we have nothing but a very complicated 

 system of intercommunications between the 

 follicles of the lymphatic nodes. 



Recognising now the medullary mass as 

 a network of lymph-tubes, we must, of 

 course, expect to meet with a correspond- 

 ing system of interstices. Throughout these lacunse (sometimes in the 

 greater part of them (fig. 388, b), sometimes only in some few) the system 

 of connective-tissue septa with which we have been already made ac- 

 quainted extends. But, as was before observed, in regard to the parti 



Fig 405. 



Fig. 406. 



