8 F. J. F. Barrington, 



phery of the gland. Of the sixteen remaining out of the twenty-eight 

 early pregnant cats, three had more mucin in their cells than the 

 four glands just described, otherwise as regards their gland cells they 

 fell into an intermediate position between the eight at the beginning 

 and the four at the end of this period. The secretion in the ducts and 

 acini in the twenty-eight early pregnant cases was usually a mixture 

 of both mucin and the homogeneous substance with a preponderance 

 of the former in only one case was a large amount present when it was 

 largely mucin: in many cases the amount was very small. 



The glands of the sixteen cats killed in the latter half of pregnancy 

 with one exception were composed almost entirely of cells containing 

 mucin. The exceptional case was that of a cat in which one hypogastric 

 nerve had been stimulated in its continuity for several hours, being 

 ligatured, but not divided, centrally to the electrode: the glands on 

 both sides had the appearances of almost complete exhaustion: this 

 case was most probably not a real exception but due to the technical 

 error of not cutting as well as tying the nerve. In the remaining fifteen, 

 a marked degree of mucin reaction w^as present in nearly all the cells, 

 and in all but one, a large proportion of tall columnar cells occured, 

 the majority of cells being of this type in most cases. The lumina of 

 the acini and ducts contained mucin : this was never great in amount : 

 in some cases a small number of acini were present distended with 

 homogeneous secretion, these were usually formed of short cells. 



The glands of thirteen cats were examined after parturition, be- 

 fore the uterus was completely involuted. In two of these the glands 

 were obtained within twenty-four hours of parturition, in another on the 

 fourth day after, and in two others, from the appearance of the uterus, 

 at intermediate times. In these five cases, the glands appeared almost 

 identical with those in the latter half of pregnancy, but the acini con- 

 tained rather more mucin. Three cases whose periods were not actually 

 known, but which were probably in the latter half of the first week, from 

 the appearances of the uteri, had very similar glands; in two of them 

 the number of tall columnar cells was diminished. In three, two seven 

 and one eight days after parturition, there was very obviously less 

 mucin in the cells : tall columnar cells were few in number and a con- 



