68 
D, D. CUNNINGHAM. 
‘without any evidence of any equivalent increase in persistence 
of the cells, blank spaces being present in increased rather than 
diminished quantity ; 2nd, the increase in number of granule 
cells is often extremely marked wdien there has been a very con- 
siderable destruction of the epidermal tissue over wide areas. In 
proportion to the period of starvation there is a steady increase 
in the number of blanks in the deeper layer of epidermis and of 
areas occupied by reticular tissue. This tissue, which in areas 
formed early in the course of starvation, is comparatively close 
and approaches new epithelial tissue more or less nearly in its 
characters, alters in nature in the later stages. The nuclear 
bodies are then small and far apart, and the connecting processes 
proportionately lengthened. Ultimately, in the last stages of 
inanition, the tissue in many places fails to be developed at all, 
and large blank spaces are left, in which the internal tissues are 
only covered by the outer epidermal layer. 
The increased formation of granule cells is soon and constantly 
accompanied by changes in the blood supply. The amount of 
blood becomes visibly diminished, and the blood current flows 
with diminished rapidity. The oil granules in the corpuscles 
increase in size and numbers, so as to present themselves very 
conspicuously even to low-power observations. The destruction 
of the corpuscles, however, goes on very gradually until a late 
stage of starvation, at w^hich it appears to assume a more active 
course. The colouring matter escapes from the corpuscles, and 
the latter ultimately break up, setting their contained oil globules 
free in the serum {vide^^. 7). 
Fig. 7. State of the blood-corpuscles in advanced starvation, x lOOO, 
Somewhat less constant than either of the above- described 
phenomena, but yet of very frequent occurrence, is a fatty 
change in the ramified sub-epidermal, amoeboid cells. They 
increase greatly in size, and appear to become distended with 
yellow matter and numerous granules. These changes are so 
conspicuous in many cases as to render the cells one of the 
inost striking features in the starved tissues. The contents of 
the cells are dissolved out by ether, leaving mere shrunken 
skeletons behind. 
No such conspicuous changes affect the connective-tissue 
elements even in very advanced stages of starvation. The nuclei 
