316 THE MICROSCOPIST. 



made of the milk-globules, as in the ease of the blood- 

 corpuscles (page 296); or the sample may be compared 

 with a specimen known to be healthy. 



Impoverished milk is known by the small number and 

 size of the globules. Colostrum or " exudation " corpus- 

 cles are numerous shortly after childbirth. In engorge- 

 ment of the breast the globules aggregate in masses, and 

 sometimes from inflammation, blows, etc., blood and pus 

 may be found. Starchy adulteration may be detected by 

 the addition of iodine. Richardson speaks of fibrinous 

 casts of the lacteal ducts occurring after puerperal masti- 

 tis, and Beale of minute particles of contagious bioplasm 

 in the milk of a cow suffering from cattle-plague, and 

 considers it possible that typhoid fever, etc., may be thus 

 propagated. 



Y. SALIVA AND SPUTUM. 



Besides the epithelium of the mouth, saliva holds in 

 suspension certain oval or spherical bodies, probably de- 

 rived from the glandular follicles, called " salivary cor- 

 puscles " (page 189). 



Dr. Richardson considers them identical with leuco- 

 cytes. Beale supposes them to be concerned with the con- 

 version of starch into sugar, which occurs from the action 

 of the saliva. The peculiar dancing movement of the 

 granules of these corpuscles needs a y^th of an inch object- 

 glass, or one even higher, to see them well. 



In examining sputum a small piece should be placed on 

 a slide and teased out with needles, if necessary, in glyc- 

 erin and water, or some indifferent fluid. We may ex- 

 pect to find mucus entangling air-bubbles and pavement 

 epithelium from the mouth (Plate XXVII, Fig. 252). The 

 observer should, however, be familiar with the appear- 

 ance of fragments of food, starch, epithelium from the 

 various parts of the air-passages, fungi, etc. 



In catarrhal affections ciliated epithelium from the 



