CARTILAGE. 



97 



the cartilage ; as a consequence of this a transparent ring appears 

 between the inner surface of the cavity and the shrivelled cell, 

 or the cell may still remain attached to certain points of the 

 wall of the cavity, and is then irregularly stellate ; such long 

 and more firmly adhering processes of the already partially 

 shrivelled cell usually detach themselves sooner or later, but do 

 not shrink in the same proportion, so that even when completely 

 detached from the walls of the cavity such cells appear to be 

 irregularly beset with processes. If these appearances, which 



Fig. 6. 



Fig. 6. Fresh cartilage from the Triton. 



long remain unaltered, have been produced by the action of 

 water, it may be seen that in some cells the nucleus has 

 become indistinct, its place being indicated only by a dull 

 spot ; whilst in others it still appears distinctly defined. By 

 changing the focus some of the indistinct nuclei may be 

 more clearly brought into view, but others always remain 

 indistinct ; and these differences appear to depend upon the 

 varying position of the nucleus in the cell, in consequence of 

 which the greater part of the latter is sometimes above and 

 sometimes below the nucleus in relation to the observer. 

 Similar changes to those induced by the addition of water 

 occur in the cartilage cell on the addition of saccharine and 



