456 



almost all the elementary fibres which I was enabled to trace 

 throughout their extent appeared to terminate indistinctly, a 

 few only showed jagged and broken ends. A small number 

 of the fibres continued clear and transparent throughout their 

 entire extent, but, in the majority, the interior presented more 

 or less change. Lastly, in a few instances I observed a number 

 of corpuscles of very peculiar and definite characters. These 

 appeared to be perfectly spherical, were of a reddish-brown 

 colour, and presented a well-marked edge sharply defined ; in 

 their interior lay another ring, having a diameter of about two- 

 thirds of that of the outer, this enclosed a body or space which 

 had the appearance of being depressed, and within Avhich lay 

 a dark central spot. These bodies varied somewhat in size, 

 and lay, some mixed with other histolytic elements, some free 

 and isolated on the field, and others again aggregated into 

 masses, but showing no trace of any investing membrane. I 

 am quite at a loss to understand the nature and origin of these 

 peculiar corpuscles. 



Scattered through the field lay granular masses, granular 

 corpuscles, and cells ; cells including numerous large corpuscles, 

 formed, as it were, by endogenous growth ; and finally, various 

 stellate and acicular crystals, some within cells, others free on 

 the field. 



These results of the Histolysis of muscle are still very in- 

 complete, yet I think they give us some indications of the 

 mode in which the tissue breaks up. I may remark, inciden- 

 tally, that from some of the appearances observed, I am led to 

 adopt views different from those generally received, as to the 

 nature of the striae, which I am disposed to consider as belong- 

 ing in greater part, if not entirely, to the sarcolemma. 



In considering the chief results arrived at in the study of 

 the process of putrefaction, I am led to believe — 



1st. That concurrently with the first order of chemical 

 changes, a certain order of morphic changes takes place before 

 the final dissolution of organic structures, by the action of 

 chemical and physical forces. 



