The Cultivation of Human Tumour Tissue in Vitro. 91 



fully in a medium composed of fowl plasma 1 part + extract of embryonic 

 chick 1 part. Unlike the previous tumour, this one was somewhat tough 

 and fibrous, due to the presence of a considerable amount of connective tissue 

 stroma, and it is interesting to note that the new growth in this case con- 

 sisted of both tissues. 



After 44 hours' incubation at 37"5° C, long branching stroma cells appeared 

 growing out from the original tissue. After five days, there appeared 

 in several places solid buds composed of epithelial cells, and these increased 

 in size day by day. Fig. 4 represents a microphotograph of the live tissue 

 after nine clays' incubation and shows clearly the outgrowth of stroma cells 

 and also new buds of epithelial cells of the cancer. Fig. 5 shows definitely a 

 solid outgrowth of cancerous epithelial cells after nine days' incubation, and 

 fig. 6 shows the marked increase of the same portion after 13 days' incubation. 

 Growth ceased after 15 days. As in the case of the papilloma of the ovary the 

 new growing epithelial cells were again much larger than the original. They 

 were amoeboid and were filled with highly refractile granules. It is interesting 

 to note that these human tumour tissues were cultivated in a medium composed 

 chiefly of fowl blood plasma, or, in other words, the human tissue proliferated 

 in a nutrient material obtained entirely from a bird. This is contrary to what 

 was previously believed, since it was considered that the tissue of a certain 

 animal could only grow in a medium composed of the blood plasma of the 

 same species of animal. 



Fuller details of this work, and parallel researches on the cultivation of 

 the normal tissues of other animals, will be published in the Proceedings of 

 the Eoyal Society of Medicine. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE. 

 (All the figures represent microphotographs of the live growing tissue.) 



Fig. 1. — Papilloma of ovary ; tissue after eight days' incubation. Note the outgrowth of 

 processes composed of epithelial cells, x 50 diameters. 



Fig. 2. — Another portion of the same after nine days' incubation. The medium is 

 becoming liquefied and the new cells are somewhat scattered, x 90. 



Fig. 3.— Higher magnifications of the new growing cells. Note the amoeboid proto- 

 plasmic processes and the highly refractile granules, x 870. 



Fig. 4. — Cancerous lymphatic gland ; tissue after nine days' incubation. Note the buds 

 of epithelial cancer cells and also the outgrowth of connective tissue stroma 

 cells, x 80. 



Fig. 5.— Another portion of the same, after nine days' incubation. Note the solid 



outgrowth of epithelial cancer cells, x 80. 

 Fig. 6. — Same portion after thirteen days' incubation. Note the marked increase of the 



outgrowth of epithelial cancer cells, x 80. 



VOL. LXXXVIII. — B. 



1 



