316 E. T. Bell, 



imens. These seem to dissolve the granules in ,2 4 hours or less. Benzene 

 and xyol do not penetrate the specimens well unless the water is first 

 removed by absolute alcohol, and it is also necessary to wash the spec- 

 imen with alcohol after extraction before it can be stained. For these 

 reasons it is difficult to determine whether the granules were dissolved 

 by the alcohol or by the benzene or xylol. 



Potassium hydroxid, 1 to 5 per cent. All the liposomes, except 

 possibly those that are very faintly-refractive, are insoluble in this 

 solution at least after exposure of a few hours. It is a valuable reagent 

 for the study of the liposomes, since it clears the tissue and renders 

 them visible. Very faintly-refractive liposomes may be seen for a few 

 moments if a very dilute solution of potassium hydroxid be drawn 

 slowly under the cover glass and the fiber be watched just as the alkah 

 strikes it. 



c) The effect of stains and fixatives. 1. Herxheimer's solution. 

 This solution when properly employed will stain all the liposomes of 

 vertebrate muscle, tho with varying degrees of intensity. The color it 

 gives the granules varies from a bright red to an extremely faint reddish 

 tinge. The more refractive a droplet appears in the fresh tissue the 

 brighter is the red color given by this stain. Some very faintly-refractive 

 granules may be shown clearly tho they are barely visible in unstained 

 preparations (Fig. 2). Some granules are stained faintly by this stain, 

 but cannot be demonstrated by any other method. The large Q-gran- 

 ules of the wing muscles of insects (in the few specimens studied) 

 could not be stained at all by Herxheimer's or any other fat stain. 

 These granules contain no fats. The fact that the interstitial granules 

 of vertebrate muscle are soluble in alcohol and ether, may be stained 

 with Herxheimer's solution, and are insoluble in potassium hydroxid 

 is taken as proof that they consist entirely or in part of fats. 



What is the difference in the chemical composition of the granules 

 that stain intensely and those that stain faintly ? To determine this 

 thin smears of oleic acid, lecithin, olive oil, and ordinary connective 

 tissue fat were stained. All of these substances stain a bright red with 

 Herxheimer's solution. 



Sodium oleate is a solid at ordinary temperatures. Since it is 



