1881.] Dr. J. H. Gladstone. Refraction Equivalents, fyc. 327 



The reticulum of the cortical part of a follicle is of two kiuds ; 

 consisting (1) of a reticulum, composed of coarse threads and of 

 delicate cells, with, long branching processes— these cells and threads 

 are attached to the blood-vessels. In the meshes of this reticulum 

 two different kinds of small bodies are seen nearly equal in size ; the 

 one (a) are very highly refractive and angular, and have short 

 threads attached to their angles, the other (&) circular and much less 

 refractive — a and h are acted upon differently by staining solutions. 

 The highly refractive bodies form the nodal points (2) of a delicate 

 reticulum which encloses the circular less highly refractive cells. 



Traces of this fine reticulum can be seen in the medullary portion. 



The granular cells mentioned in a preceding note (" Proc. Roy. Soc," 

 vol. 27, p. 369) take their origin in the connective tissue cells which 

 constitute the network of the medullary portion. These granular 

 cells not only help to form the concentric corpuscles, but are actively 

 concerned in the formation of fibrous tissue ; their fibrillated pro- 

 cesses are sometimes found to be attached to newly formed connective 

 tissue. 



The granular cells are identical with some forms of giant cells — 

 they are not the plasma cells of Waldeyer, although plasma cells are 

 present in the thymus, as has been described by Ehrlich. 



January 27, 1881. 



THE PRESIDENT in the Chair. 



The Presents received were laid on the table and thanks ordered for 

 them. 



The following Papers were read : — 



I. " The Refraction Equivalents of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, 

 and Nitrogen in Organic Compounds." By J. H. GLAD- 

 STONE, Ph.D., F.R.S. Received January 4, 1881. 



Since the communication which I had the honour to read before 

 this Society in 1869, " On the Refraction Equivalents of the Ele- 

 ments," very little has been done on the subject. My own contribu- 

 tions have been almost confined to two communications in the 

 " Journal of the Chemical Society," in 1870 ; the one a lecture on the 

 subject in general, the other a paper on the " Refraction Equiva- 



VOL. xxxi. 2 B 



