312 THE LYMPHATIC SYSTEM, BY F. v. RECKLINGHAUSEN. 



those met with in the lymph sacs of Amphibia. The idea was 

 consequently not far fetched, that these appearances originated 

 from the manipulation of the specimen, and the extravasation 

 of the fluid ; and, in fact, this objection was raised by the 

 opponents of the view held by Briicke and Ludwig; and 

 Langer even pointed out that in the testes of the frog the 

 lymphatic vessels do not form sheaths of this nature, but tubu- 

 lar plexuses, as is usual in the lymphatic capillaries of other 

 parts. Nevertheless it cannot be doubted that in the testes of 

 many Mammals the lymphatic tubes ultimately terminate in 

 lacunar channels. Ludwig and Tomsa have further attempted 

 to prove the existence of such interstitial lacunae in other 

 organs, as in the tongue and kidneys, and to demonstrate their 

 connection with the lymphatic vessels. 



From this exposition of the two opposite views it is obvious 

 that they differ from one another in one point, which is 

 deserving of especial notice. In the one view, the anastomosing 

 connective tissue corpuscles form a plexus, the nodal points of 

 which are represented by the body of each corpuscle; the 

 fibres of the plexus are hollow cylinders, and their disposition, 

 upon the whole, similar to that of the lymphatics. On the 

 other view, the interstitial spaces depend for their form on 

 that of the morphological elements of the tissues (ducts, fibres, 

 etc.) between which they lie. They vary in their form and 

 size, but in general, because by far the greater number of tis- 

 sues consist of cylindrical or spherical elements with more or 

 less convex surfaces, they constitute fissures (that is to say, 

 spaces the transverse section of which is not circular, as in 

 tubes, but elongated, presenting in some instances a very small, 

 and in others a relatively large diameter). Special importance 

 has been attached to this lacuniform character of the channels by 

 Ludwig. At the point of transition of these into the proper lym- 

 phatics, the lymph path undergoes a sudden alteration of form. 



In opposition to these two views, I have still a third to 

 propose, which is in accordance with all the facts that have 

 hitherto been observed. The essential feature of this is, that 

 the masses of connective tissue, whether they form the exclu- 

 sive structure of an organ, or are intercalated between the 

 proper morphological elements of some other tissue, are tra- 



