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Dr. E. Montgomery 07i the Formation of [Dec. 20, 



globular shape. The remainmg portion may or may not ultimately undergo 

 similar transformation. 



Inflamed serous membranes become often densely "nucleated." In the 

 deeper layers, the "nuclei" are very elongated. At the surface they are 

 perfectly globular, and are detached as minute opaque balls. These balls 

 are the granulation- or the pus-corpuscles. On imbibition, one portion 

 of their soft material swells out, encompassing the rest, which, when form- 

 ing a single uniform globule, goes under the name of granulation-corpuscle ; 

 when, on the other hand, broken up into several granules, constitutes the 

 famous pus-" cell." This is an example of a second mode of "cell "-for- 

 mation. Here the secondary globule is shaped from a portion of the 

 primary mass. 



In some instances these "nuclei" or balls will, when still enclosed 

 within the surrounding texture, undergo the above-mentioned change on 

 imbibition, and thus whole rows of granulation or pus- corpuscles are seen 

 to form. 



This second mode of "cell "-formation is still more strikingly manifested 

 in epithelial textures. In the mucous membrane of the nose, for instance, 

 the faint oval "nuclei" of the large scales become during disintegration 

 more and more distinct and globular. The surrounding material of the 

 scale gradually liquefies, and the minute balls, thus liberated, expand by 

 imbibition into mucus- or pus-corpuscles. It often succeeds to make them 

 form in all perfection whilst they are still contained within the scale. 



In abscesses of the skin the pus -corpuscles are formed in exactly the 

 same manner. They can often be watched, fully shaped, still enclosed 

 within the scale. Here, it would seem, are " cells," not the result of life, 

 but rather of death. 



The multiple "nuclei" of pus-corpuscles are not the result of over- 

 fecundity, but are simply due to the disintegration of the non-imbibing 

 portion of those oval or spherical clear-cut bodies, which are thenjselves 

 so well known under the name of " nuclei." 



The disintegration of this non-imbibing portion can be traced through 

 all possible stages, down to the cluster of most irregularly shaped gra- 

 nules (which, notwithstanding, have been looked upon as the result of 

 fissiparous division), and has been made to represent the crowning feature of 

 the cell theory. 



The same minute balls found swimming in the serum of a blister were 

 seen, when treated with water, to disclose single bright clear cut " nuclei ;" 

 when treated with acetic acid, to reveal the most typical multiple nuclei of 

 pus -cells. 



