L YMPH-NODES. 1 3 1 



or less distinctly divided into two zones : an outer, 

 or cortical zone the cortex which is soft and gray- 

 ish or reddish in color, and divided into ovoidal or 

 irregular-shaped masses ; and an inner, or medullary 

 zone the medulla adjacent to the hilus, which is 

 firmer, and has a more uniform, or sometimes irregu- 

 larly reticulated, grayish, or brownish-red surface. 



The nodes are surrounded by a firm, dense capsule 

 of connective tissue, with a few elastic fibres and 

 smooth muscle-cells. The capsule sends inward 

 numerous partitions or trabeculcz, which divide the 

 cortex into a series of intercommunicating cham- 

 bers, and the medulla into numerous irregular con- 

 necting passages. These septa are formed of the 

 same elements as the capsule, and at the hilus are 

 continuous with a dense mass of connective tissue, 

 through which the blood-vessels enter the organ. If 

 we examine the spaces left between the septa, we 

 find that in the cortex they are incompletely filled 

 with ovoidal or globular bodies, which are continu- 

 ous with cord-like anastomosing structures lying in 

 the narrower and irregular spaces in the medulla ; 

 the bodies in the cortex are often called lymph- 

 follicles. As the term follicle is more properly applied 

 to true gland structure it is better to use for these 

 structures the term lymph-nodules. The cord-like 

 structures in the medulla are called lymph-cords. 



If, now, we examine more minutely the structure 

 of the lymph-nodules, we find that they consist, in 



