iao 



MOEBID STATES OF THE BLOOD, ETC. 



§ 195. I have also endeavoured to ascertain the histological 

 details of the softening process. Fig. 74 represents a transverse- 

 section through a laminated coagulum, the centre of which has 

 already undergone softening. The upper part of the drawing 

 shows the boundary-line between the outer layers of the throm- 

 bus which are still solid, and its central portion which is already 

 diffluent. The lower part shows the almost mathematical regu- 

 larity with which the colourless dissepiments and the layers of 



Fig. 74. 



rrom a section througli a softening thrombus, a. Layers of 

 red blood-discs; 6. Colourless layers consisting of white 

 blood-corpuscles fused together; c. The cavity due to 

 softening, a^^j. 



red blood which they enclose alternate with one another. On a 

 level with the softening edge of the clot the colourless striae pass 

 into rows of independent leucocytes, while the compact masses of 

 red discs lose their cohesion and mingle with the fluid products 

 of softening. They have already lost their colouring matter and 



