38 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. [3D Ser., 



really the only ones I have observed. During the disinte- 

 gration of the nucleus and before the plasmocyte has sep- 

 arated, nuclear fragments are often seen floating about in 

 the cytoplasmic sphere, especially in the granosphere. If 

 any larger fragment should happen to be enclosed in the 

 plasmocyte its influence there might be of more than mo- 

 mentary importance. I must, however, distinctly state that 

 I have nowhere found anything even approaching a per- 

 fect nucleus enclosed in a plasmocyte. 



Degeneration of the Plasmocytes. — I consider the plas- 

 mocyte shown in fig. 84 as a form resulting from degener- 

 ation. These forms are of quite frequent occurrence and of 

 various sizes, often larger than the perfect plasmocyte. I 

 was for a long time doubtful as to their nature and their con- 

 nection with the plasmocyte, but of late I have found inter- 

 mediate links which tend to prove that they are forms of 

 plasmocytes. They are characterized by a disintegration 

 of the plasmosphere and hyalosphere, in the place of which 

 we only see what looks like a very delicate membrane into 

 which radiates some substance from the granosphere. The 

 latter is always remarkably granulated, the granules being 

 regular and rounded, staining intensely dark. This granu- 

 lation reminds me greatly of the one possessed by eosin- 

 ophile cells, or by other strongly granulated forms of leuco- 

 cytes. The centrosphere in these plasmocytes is always 

 less distinct, being partly covered with the dark granules of 

 the granosphere, but the somosphere and centrosomes stand 

 out plainly, the somosphere generally being ring-shaped. 



Abnormal ^Plasmocytes. — I have already stated that some 

 plasmocytes show an abnormal structure which is not easy 

 to explain. Such plasmocytes are also very rare. The va- 

 riation refers generally to a duplication of certain spheres 

 or to the presence of some sphere not found in the normal 

 plasmocyte. Thus in fig. 47 we find on one side, the right 

 one, a small crescent-shaped, faintly stained body pushed 

 into the substance of the granosphere. In this instance 

 it may be a fragment of the centrosphere. A more diffi- 

 cult appearance to explain is the one seen in fig. 64. 



