NERVOUS TISSUE. 



18!) 



off a branch, move or fewer of these tubes divide, sending- 

 off a prolongation into each branch. 



When quite fresh, the contents of the tubes are per- 

 fectly pellucid, and without the least indication of struc- 

 ture ; and, from the manner in which the contents 



Fig. 55. — Axf/wi/x fliivinfilin. — Three nerve fibres, with the connective 

 tissue in which they are imbedded (magnified about 250 diameters) ; 

 ■n, nuclei. 



exude from the cut ends of the tubes, it is evident that 

 tlie}' consist of a fluid of gelatinous consistenc^y. As the 

 fibre dies, and under the influence of water and of many 

 chemical re-agents, the contents break up into globules 

 or become turbid and finely granular. 



Where motor nerve fibres terminate in the muscles to 

 which they are distributed, the sheath of each fibre 

 becomes continuous with the sarcolemma of the muscle, 

 and the subjacent protoplasm is commonly raised into a 

 small i;)rominence which contains several nuclei (fig. 52, F). 

 These are called the terminal or motor plates. 



