THE SKIN. 275 



depends in great measure upon the thickness of the layer. 

 The nearer we approach to the stratum lucidum, the more dis- 

 tinct are the cells. If the layer is very thin the cells appear 

 as elongated, flat, or curved bodies, giving to this part of the 

 epidermis a fibrous appearance. When the corneous stratum 

 is thick these cells present various forms and sizes. The cor- 

 puscles of the lower layers color slightly in carmine, are poly- 

 gonal or spindle-shaped, and frequently contain a shrivelled 

 nucleus. As the surface is approached they grow flatter and 

 drier, are more bent upon themselves, and color less and less in 

 carmine. The nucleus also becomes invisible. The most su- 

 . perficial layers are composed of elongated, flat, dried-up cells, 

 the so-called epidermic scales. These bodies are best studied 

 after they have been subjected to the action of liquor potassse, 

 which causes them to swell up. 



The corpuscles of the stratum corneum are arranged in lay- 

 ers as in the other parts of the epidermis, but the elements 

 forming a layer are more closely united with each other than 

 with those of the adjoining layers. Hence this stratum can be 

 separated into lamellae, as occurs in some pathological states 

 of the skin. It accompanies, for example, the formation of 

 some vesicles, where the exuded liquid, prevented from pass- 

 ing toward the surface, accumulates between the layers, and 

 thus separates them from each other. 



The corneous layer participates in the elevations and de- 

 pressions of the underlying layers. This causes the undulat- 

 ing or wavy appearance of the lamellge, as observed in sections 

 where the papillae are well developed. It varies greatly in 

 thickness in different parts of the body, and reaches its great- 

 est development on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. 

 Its thickness does not depend upon the rete Malpighii, as it 

 sometimes forms a thin layer where the rete is thick, and vice 

 versa. 



The subcutaneous connective-tissue layer of the skin con- 

 sists principally of connective-tissue bundles, which, coming 

 from the underlying fasciae of the muscles or from the peri- 

 osteum, pass in an oblique direction to the corium. These 

 fasciculi are generally cylindrical in form, and variable in size ; 

 by their anastomoses or divisions they form larger or smaller 

 networks, with correspondingly large or small interfascicular 

 spaces. Generally large bundles anastomose with each other 



