Action of certain Reagents upon Coloured Blood-Corpuscles. 125 



globules were seen on the surface of the corpuscle. The outline of the 

 corpuscle while shrinking was more or less irregular, and the droplets 

 continued to form on the margins of the corpuscles. The corpuscles 

 were obviously in a very plastic condition, if one may judge from the 

 ease with which they changed their shape. Ultimately the corpuscle 

 — or rather what remained of it — became condensed into a small 

 globular mass of a dark yellow colour, usually with the pale nucleus in 

 its centre. In a short time the nucleus which had hitherto been but 

 slightly affected, suddenly expanded to a considerable extent, some- 

 times breaking up in the process. 



A beautiful intranuclear plexus of fibrils was then seen to exist in 

 the interior of the nucleus. (Fig. 8, a, b.) With the swelling up of 

 the nucleus, the rest of the corpuscles underwent complete decolori- 

 sation. Traces of a stroma were detectable in the colourless hull 

 of the corpuscle. 



Ultimately the microscopic field contained a large mumber of nuclei, 

 now considerably enlarged, and each one containing a beautiful view 

 of its intranuclear plexus of fibrils. It was obvious that the nucleus 

 had become enlarged through the swelling up of the material — what- 

 ever its nature — which lies within the meshes of the plexus. The 

 fibrils themselves are also enlarged, and they bound meshes which in 

 some cases are polygonal, in others hexagonal in shape. This reagent 

 shows the intranuclear plexus quite as distinctly as ammonium chro- 

 mate. On subsequently staining the distended nuclei with magenta 

 or fuchsin, the plexus becomes stained, and they present a singularly 

 fine demonstration of the arrangement of the fibrils. They may be 

 kept for a considerable time. 



One cannot fail to notice how closely the phenomena above de- 

 scribed agree with the action of certain other reagents upon the blood- 

 corpuscles — notably a 5 per cent, solution of ammonium chromate 

 which shows the separation of particles of the haemoglobin in the form 

 of droplets of the most bizarre forms, and the changes of shape with 

 the utmost distinctness. A strong solution of urea exerts an almost 

 similar action upon the coloured corpuscles — and so does heat, as was 

 described by Max Schulze. 



Somewhat similar phenomena were observed by Gr. F. Dowdeswell,* 

 in the blood of man and the dog when acted upon by septic matter, 

 such as an aqueous extract of putrid muscle. These phenomena closely 

 resemble the results obtained on human blood by Dr. Wm. Addison, f 

 F.R.S., with pale sherry, either alone or in combination with various 

 substances. 



Coloured corpuscles of amphibian blood have been observed by 

 Rindfleisch and Beale to undergo remarkable changes in shape. 



* "Quart. Journ. of Mic. Sc.," 1881, p. 154. 

 f " Proc. Key. Soc," vol. 10, p. 186. 



