298 ELEMENTS OF HISTOLOGY. [Chap, xxxvi. 



underneath the epithelium break up into their con- 

 stituent primitive fibrils, the latter coming off the 

 former brush-like (Cohnheim). These primitive 

 fibrillse ultimately ascend into the anterior epithelium 

 (Hoyer, Cohnheim, and others), where they branch, 

 and nearly reach the surface. They always run 

 between the epithelial cells, and are connected into 

 a network. According to some observers, they termi- 

 nate with free ends, pointed or knobbed ; but according 

 to others, with whom I agree, these apparent free ends 

 are not in reality free endings. 



413. The nerves of Descemet's membrane form 

 also a plexus of non-medullated fibres in the posterior 

 layers of the ground substance; from them come 

 off vast numbers of primitive fibrillae, running a more 

 or less straight and long course, crossing one another 

 often under right angles ; they give off very fine 

 fibrils, which are closely associated with the corneal 

 corpuscles, without, however, really becoming con- 

 tinuous with their protoplasm. 



414. II. The sclerotic consists of lamellae of 

 tendinous tissue. The bundles of fibrous tissue are 

 opaque as compared with those of the cornea, although 

 they pass insensibly into them. There are lymph 

 clefts between the lamellae and trabeculas, and in 

 them lie the flattened connective tissue corpuscles, 

 which, in the dark eyes of some mammals only, contain 

 pigment granules. Numerous elastic fibrils are met 

 with in the inner layers of the sclerotic. 



415. Between the sclerotic and choroid membrane 

 is a loose fibrous tissue, which acts also as the sup- 

 porting tissue for the blcod-vessels passing to and from 

 the choroid. The part of this loose tissue next 

 to the sclerotic, and forming part, as it were, of 

 the sclerotic, contains, in dark eyes of mammals, 

 numerous pigmented connective tissue corpuscles ; it 

 is then called lamina ftisca. The rest -i.e., next 



