ALIMENTARY CANAL, ETC., OF AMIURUS CATUS. .397 



directed over the cardia and ccecum. The opening of the glands on 

 the surface of the membrane can scarcely be detected with the naked 

 eye. 



The inner longitudinal layer of muscle fibres of the oesophagus 

 vanishes, its place being taken by the more abundant submucosa. 

 The outer oesophageal layer of circular fibres becomes the inner circu- 

 lar layer of the stomach, in the anterior portion of which is still 

 found a certain amount of striated fibres. At the same point an 

 outer longitudinal layer of smooth muscle takes its origin. 



Oblique muscular layers are almost totally absent, such as are pre- 

 sent being modifications of the two other layers. 



The muscularis mucosae, acquires quite a thickness. In it smooth 

 fibres alone are present, and a more abundant mucous tissue separ- 

 ates it from the epithelium. 



Two portions may be distinguished in the stomach, the pepsin- 

 secreting region (including the cardia and coecum) and the pylorus. 

 The two portions can be observed as distinct by the naked eye, the 

 former being always more or less flushed while the latter is uniformly 

 pale or discolored. 



The superficial epithelium of the anterior section does not differ 

 from that of the posterior or pylorus. In both it consists of delicate 

 cylinders, not quite as long on the average as those of the oesophagus, 

 difficult to isolate to their fullest extent, as their basal processes run 

 into and are interwoven with the fibrous tissue of the mucosa. In the 

 first state their contents are similar throughout and finely granuled. 

 The nucleus is large, oval and situated near the inner third of the cell. 

 The contents of each cell project beyond the general surface with a 

 faintly arched refracting border, which, at first view, may be taken 

 for a membrane for that portion of the cell ; it is destroyed by the 

 action of water after some minutes or by the immediate action of 

 Midler's fluid. 



F. E. Schulze 1 who first described fully and carefully the superficial 

 epithelium of the stomach, denied the presence of a peripheral wall 

 for these cells, and stated their function to be that of secreting mucous 

 to cover the surface, which should thus be protected from injury by 

 the digesting fluid. Haidenhain 2 describes these cells as perfectly 

 closed on their peripheral border, and states that the apparent opening 



i ArchiY flir Mikr. Anat., Bd. III. 



2 Archiv fur Mikr. Anat. Bd. VI. , page 372. 



