SUPRA-RENAL CAPSULES. 165 



beneath the capsule, the chambers are small and 

 irregular in shape ; then comes a broader zone, 

 whose chambers are long and narrow ; and again, at 

 the inner border of the cortex, they are small and 

 irregular. In the medulla the supporting frame- 

 work has the form of a delicate reticulum with small 

 irregular meshes. The spaces thus formed are filled 

 with cells parenchyma cells which differ in char- 

 acter in the different parts ; in the cortex they are, 

 for the most part, large, polyhedral, and granular ; 

 less abundant are smaller cuboidal or cylindrical 

 forms. Those in the elongated chambers are usually 

 crowded with fat-droplets, and those lying in the 

 inner zone usually contain an abundance of brown 

 pigment, forming the above-mentioned brown zone. 

 The meshes of the medulla are filled with large 

 globular or angular or branched, finely granular 

 cells, which, in marked contrast to the cortical cells, 

 are stained intensely brown by solutions of chromic 

 acid or its salts. 



The blood-vessels are very abundant ; many of 

 them have very thin walls, and lie in close contact 

 with the cells of the parenchyma. The organ is 

 abundantly supplied with nerves which, passing 

 along the converging trabeculse, form a dense 

 plexus in the medulla, in which, as well as in the 

 capsule, considerable numbers of ganglion cells are 

 found. Lymphatic vessels and sinuses are also 

 abundant. 



