ORGANS OF THE BODY. 



479 



252. 



There is beside those just mentioned another species of gastric glands, 

 discovered many years ago in the pig by Wasmann. Here we have tubes 

 with blind endings and hollow down to the 

 latter, which are clothed internally not by 

 peptic cells, but columnar elements like those 

 of epithelium. The tube itself becomes 

 opaque on treatment with acetic acid. These 

 (tig. 464) are the gastric mucous glands 

 (Koelliker}. They have since been recog- 

 nised as occurring very widely in the 

 stomachs of the mammalia, and may be met 

 with either simple (fig. 464, 1) or compound 

 (2). In the dog, cat, rabbit, and Guinea-pig 

 they are met with near the pylorus in large 

 numbers. They are arranged in a narrow 

 zone in the neighbourhood of the pylorus 

 in man also, but in the form of compound 

 glands (Koelliker). 



Very accurate observations have lately 

 been made by Ebstein on the stomach of the 

 dog. Here the ordinary columnar epithe- 

 lium of the surface of the stomach is con- 

 tinued down to a considerable depth into 

 the sometimes simple, sometimes compound 

 tube (fig. 465, a). The under portion or 

 blind end presents, on the other hand, lower 

 cellular elements rich in fine granules and 

 clouded (b, b). These resemble in many 

 respects the adelomorphous cells of the peptic glands. They also mani- 

 fest the same differences iu the fasting and digesting animal, which were 

 pointed out by Heidenliain (previous ) in the latter. 



As regards the composition of the two kinds of 

 stomachal gland cells some observations were made some 

 years ago by Frerichs. They are composed of an albu- 

 minous substance, and a finely granular matter, pepsin 

 (see below), which may be dissolved out with water. 

 Besides this they contain a certain amount of fats, 

 and among them cholestearin. The ashes, amount- 

 ing to 3-3 '5 per cent., consist of earthy phosphates, 

 traces of phosphates of the alkalies, and sulphate of 

 calcium. 



That their contents have anything to do with the 

 formation of gastric juice has not yet been proved, 

 although some suppose them to have. 



The existence, in the human stomach, of those 

 ordinary racemose glands which are of such frequent 

 occurrence in most mucous membranes, is denied, 

 and as a rule with justice. They are, however, 

 constant in the pylorus, in the form of minute organs imbedded in the 

 mucosa itself. In man they are grouped together in longitudinal bands 

 of from 5 to 7 (Cobelli). 



Fig. 464. Stomachal mucous glands. 

 1. A single gland tube, from the 

 cardial end of !lie pig's stomach, 

 lined with columnar cells, a. the 

 cells; 6, the axial passage. 1*, 

 isolated cells. 2. A compound 

 gland from the pylorus of the dog. 



Fig. 465. From a stom- 

 achal mucous gland of 

 the dog. a, undermost 

 portion of the canal of 

 exit ; 6, conuaeacecient 

 of the trae gland tube. 



