Zool— Vol. I.] EISEN—PLASMOCYTES. 25 



concluded that this sphere possesses digestive properties 

 and can be considered as the digestive organ of the cell 

 and of the plasmocyte. 



VIII. Archosome. 



The Centrosphere. — We will now consider a part which 

 I think must be held analogous to the archoplasm of 

 some investigators — the spheres surrounding the centro- 

 somes. The centrosphere is nearly always well defined, 

 and sometimes even separated from the granosphere by a 

 thin but distinct unstained border. The position of this 

 sphere in the granosphere is variable ; it may be situated at 

 the base of the cone, or it may be found in the center of 

 the granosphere, or near one of its borders. The outline 

 of the centrosphere is generally smooth and regular; it 

 may be slightly uneven or cloudlike, but is nearly always 

 very distinct, and I believe it is always present. If we 

 consider the staining quality of this sphere we find that with 

 toluidine it generally stains lighter than the granosphere and 

 that it shows much less granulation. But this staining is not 

 always constant; in fig. 35 the centrosphere at a is darker 

 and star-shaped, while at b it is darker and conelike. In 

 fig. 34 the centrospheres at the respective poles are stained 

 lighter than the granosphere. This is also the case in 



%■ 2 3- 



There may be from one to four centrospheres in one 



plasmocytoblast; when more than one is found it is evi- 

 dent that they constitute fragments of the original centro- 

 sphere, each fragment having assumed a more or less 

 spherical form, and each one carrying along with it a sep- 

 arate granosphere, the latter also being a fragment of the 

 original granosphere. Thus in fig. 32 we see a single cen- 

 trosphere at each pole, each surrounded by an envelope of 

 granosphere. In fig. 35^ the centrosphere is in a state of 

 division, while at 35$ no activity is apparent. In fig. 36, 

 from a fusiform corpuscle stained with Ehrlich-Biondi, we 

 find three centrospheres at each pole, the lower pole at b 



