366 



HISTOLOGY OF THE MORBID PROCESSES. 



nearly approached the character of those found in the adult fibrous 

 tissues ; but although in this respect all the tumors of this group 

 are more nearly like the normal tissues, they differ greatly among 

 themselves in regard to the extent to which the formative activities 

 of their cells are displayed in the production of intercellular sub- 

 stances. Some possess hardly more intercellular substance than the 

 small round-cell varieties, while others have the appearance of a 

 rather highly cellular fibrous tissue, the intercellular substances 

 being abundant. 



The fusiform cells of the tumor possess oval vesicular nuclei, 

 around which is an amount of cytoplasm varying in the different 

 individual growths. Sometimes the cytoplasm is abundant, and 

 the tumor appears composed of large spindle-shaped cells, tapering 

 at their ends to form processes of various lengths (Fig. 329). In 



FTG. 329. 



Large spindle-cell sarcoma. (Birch-Hirschfeld.) 



other cases the cells are small and the cytoplasm is reduced to a 

 thin investment of the nucleus, at the ends of which it rapidly 

 dwindles to a very thin fibrous process. The spindle-cell sarcomata 

 may, therefore, be divided into large- and small-cell varieties. 



The cells are usually arranged with their long axes parallel to 

 each other, forming bundles or broad bands of tissue, in which the 

 cells all have the same general position. This direction is generally 

 the same as that taken by the bloodvessels (Fig. 330). These have 

 very thin walls, as in the preceding varieties of sarcoma, and the 

 cells of the tumor appear to be in direct contact with the outside 



