MINUTE ANATOMY OF THE LYMPHATIC GLANDS. 333 



consequently of a reticulum of fibres enclosing lymph cor- 

 puscle-like cells, and may correctly be termed follicular struc- 

 tures, or follicular cords. The reticulum is distinguished from 

 the fibrous tissue of the light spaces by the circumstance that 

 the fibrils are individually finer, and the meshes of the plexus, 

 especially in the peripheric layers, are much smaller. 



For their most remarkable peculiarity namely, their want 

 of transparency, as compared with the light spots the follicular 

 cords are indebted to the large number of these cells. It must 

 be admitted, however, that this most obvious difference be- 

 tween the cords and the lighter spots is but slightly marked in 

 fine sections of the recent or in thicker sections of the hardened 

 gland substance, before they have been brushed and washed, 

 since in the latter also the lighter spaces are fully occupied 

 with lymph corpuscles. And, on the other hand, the differences 

 may again disappear if the brush has been too freely used, 

 since then the reticulum alone remains in the follicular cords. 

 From this it follows that the lymph corpuscles are by some 

 means firmly retained by the latter, whilst in the more trans- 

 parent portions of the lymph path they lie loose and unat- 

 tached. It may be asked, how are the corpuscles fixed in the 

 reticulum of the follicular cords? It is probably effected by 

 the great compactness of the reticulum and the smallness of its 

 meshes which retain any lymph corpuscles that are traversing it 

 either by a natural or artificial current, and it is also possible 

 that the lymph cells adhere more loosely to the trabeculse since 

 they only touch by a few points of their surface. 



The mode of fixation of the lymph corpuscles is a matter 

 of considerable importance. If, by plunging the point of an 

 injection syringe into its tissue, we propel various solutions 

 through the substance of a lymphatic gland, or inject the 

 organ through its afferent vessels, we shall find that we are 

 able to clear the more transparent parts of corpuscles as effec- 

 tually as by brushing, whilst the follicular cords preserve their 

 cellular contents almost intact. Only a very small amount of 

 pressure is required to accomplish this no more, in fact, than 

 that at which the lymph current ordinarily traverses the gland. 

 It may be fairly maintained, therefore, that the natural lymph 

 current is powerful enough to wash away the lymph corpuscles . 



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