464 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



tive tissue corpuscles at intervals. This mixture of atrophied 

 muscles and young connective tissue is gradually lost in 

 what was above described under the naked eye as the " zone 

 of fibrous-looking tissue." This zone consists of "granula- 

 tion tissue/' which is composed of young connective tissue, 

 through which are ramifying numerous embryonic blood 

 vessels (Fig. 1, c). A considerable number of these are 

 in the form of loops, the convexity of each loop being turned 

 towards the cavity; others run irregularly and in various 

 directions; and all are distended with blood corpuscles. 

 Although the vessels are relatively fewer as the cavity is 

 neared, numerous blood corpuscles are found in the cavity, 

 in some instances forming a kind of lining. The large 

 free mass lying in the centre or in the cavity (Fig. 1, a) 

 is surrounded by a thin zone of young connective tissue 

 cells, with here and there a few blood corpuscles; but 

 blood vessels are not to be seen in any part of this thin 

 connective tissue layer. Surrounded by this delicate outer 

 layer is a large mass made up of small vitreous-looking 

 patches with remains of muscular tissue in an advanced 

 stage of degeneration. The individual fibres are enormously 

 swollen; they have lost all trace of striation; irregular 

 fracture has taken place ; and fissures are seen running in all 

 directions. On staining with osmic acid, a few fat globules 

 are brought into prominence; but these occupy only the 

 spaces at the margins of the fibres, and in some cases the 

 larger fissures. The greater part gives no fatty reaction; 

 with methyl violet no waxy or lardaceous reaction is 

 obtained at any point; but with picro-carmine there is a 

 bright translucent yellow reaction, similar to that given 

 with the horny layer of the skin, but with a slight rosy 

 tinge. Between the swollen, fractured, and degenerated 

 fibres there is an evident increase in the number of connec- 

 tive tissue cells. At no point have I as yet been able to 

 find a parasite of any description, either animal or vegetable, 

 though, from the large amount of granulation tissue present, 

 and from the altered condition of the muscular fibres, I was 

 led to search very carefully for some form of parasitic 

 organism. I may mention that numerous parasites were 



