326 Mr. A. A. Gray. A Ganglion in the Human [Nov. 26, 



In the next section (fig. 3) the ganglion is seen to be much reduced in size, 

 and now appears as one piece which is quadrilateral in shape. The facial 

 nerve shows rather more in this section as it is beginning to turn downwards. 



Fig. 3. 



/. facial nerve ; p. posterior semicircular canal ; g. ganglion ; j. jugular fossa ; 

 a. auricular branch of vagus nerve. 



On coming to examine the minute structure of the ganglion there arises 

 the difficulty that, in the human subject, the structures have undergone con- 

 siderable post-mortem changes, owing to the fact that they cannot be put into 

 the fixing fluid until a considerable time after death. Besides this difficulty 

 another occurs in this special case, in that the fixing fluid takes some time to 

 penetrate the bone which surrounds the ganglion. It is impossible, therefore, 

 to give any satisfactory description of the minute intracellular appearances of 

 the nerve-cells of the ganglion. As regards their general appearance, however, 

 some points are obvious. 



As a whole the ganglion contains a rather large proportion of nerve-fibres 

 relative to the number of nerve-cells, Plate 6, fig. 4. The nerve-cells are 

 present in numerous groups which are separated by bundles of fibres, and it 

 is quite impossible to say whether all the fibres are connected with the 

 nerve-cells of the ganglion or not. 



As regards the cells themselves the majority are multipolar, and in this 

 respect they differ from those found in the terminal ganglia of the eighth 

 nerve, which are bipolar. In the stapedial ganglion there are also a few 

 bipolar cells to be found in the upper portion (Plate 6, fig. 4), but this does 

 not alter the general statement that the cells are multipolar in character. 



