606 
DR. MARTIN BARRY ON THE CORPUSCLES OF THE BLOOD. 
39. The purpose answered by the pellucid objects retaining in some instances a 
peripheral locality (fig. 18. from Schwann), is no doubt an important one ; but on 
this subject I do not hazard a conjecture. 
40. The blood-corpuscles when passing into cells for the formation of muscular 
fibre, are darker in colour than those destined to form the chorion. There seems to 
occur in them an increase of red colouring matter (par. 43.). 
41. The masses of globules seen by Valentin (par. 28.) to accumulate between the 
muscular threads, — globules which were “ round or roundish” and “ somewhat larger 
than the blood-corpuscles,” — I would suggest may really have been blood-corpuscles, 
which had assumed a globular form, and increased in size in the manner above de- 
scribed. Valentin, however, states that the globules in question entered into the 
formation of the “uniting mucous tissue-f-.” 
42. In connexion with the fact now recorded, that muscular fibre is formed of 
corpuscles of the blood, an observation maybe referred to which has been mentioned 
by several authors^; namely, that of a disposition to run into combinations, and 
form objects compared by Hewson to rolls of coin. I find it very usual for this ap- 
pearance to arise in blood obtained by a puncture (as of the finger), and to which no 
addition has been made. — II. Wagner mentions that in blood taken from the heart of 
some of the Invertebrata — Unio and Anodonta — when the coagulating fibrin makes its 
appearance, blood-corpuscles are seen — often grouped necklace-like — around it. 
43. Others have supposed muscular fibre to be formed by the blood-discs ; but I 
am not aware of any facts having been observed which warranted the supposition. 
It is remarkable that a conjecture on this subject in one of the papers of SwEverard 
Home§ should have approached so near the truth. His conjecture was, “That the 
globules may be the part of the blood, out of which the muscular fibres are principally 
formed ||.” Between Sir E. Home’s observations and my own, however, it will be per- 
ceived that there are material differences. For instance, he remarks, “ When the 
globules of the human blood lose the colouring matter, they continue floating in the 
serum, and are seen to have an attraction towards one another so as to coalesce, 
uniting themselves together^]".” In the altered corpuscles — that is, cells — which I 
saw uniting to form muscular fibre, the colour — so far from having disappeared — - 
seemed (as already mentioned) to have become more intense (par. 40.). 
State of the Blood-corpuscles during Vital Turgescence of the Vessels. 
44. The appearance presented by the capillaries in highly vascular conditions of the 
internal generative organs, is remarkable. An idea of it may be obtained from Plate 
XXX. fig. 20, taken from a portion of the inner surface of the infundibulum of the 
f Entwickelungsgeschichte, &c., S. 269. 
+ Hewson (/. c., p. 28.), Hodgkin and Lister (/. c., p. 436.), R. Wagner (/. c., p. 6.). 
§ The Croonian Lecture, Philosophical Transactions, 1818, p. 172. 
|| Ibid. pp. 174, 175. f Ibid. p. 174. 
