Spermatophoric Mass of the Rock Lobster — Matthews 
29 
were serially sectioned. Of the two females 
obtained, only one possessed a spermato- 
phoric mass; this was dissected and studied. 
All dissections were made on living, non- 
anesthetized specimens immersed in sea wa- 
ter. The carapace was opened quickly, and the 
internal organs overlying the reproductive 
system were removed. The testis and coils of 
the vas deferens were then studied and 
sketched. 
Two methods were employed in vital stain- 
ing with aqueous solutions of neutral red and 
toluidin blue: (1) The stains were injected 
into the enlarged distal portion of the vas 
deferens (Fig. \d) and allowed to permeate 
Fig. 1. Dissection of a mature male Parribacus ant- 
arcticus (Lund), drawn to show the position of the 
reproductive system, a. Transverse bridge; b, testis; 
c, coiled, proximal portion of vas deferens; d, straight, 
distal portion of vas deferens; e, hyaline line. (0.6X.) 
its contents proximally to the testis; (2) the 
vas deferens was removed from the body and 
placed in the stains. Both neutral red and 
toluidin blue were used in concentrations of 
1:1,000 to 1:10,000. For the injection tech- 
nique, solutions of approximately 1:1,000 to 
1:5,000 were used; for the immersion tech- 
nique, solutions of approximately 1:10,000 
were used, and the vas deferens was allowed 
to remain in the stain from 10 to 30 minutes. 
The vas deferens was then removed from the 
stain and placed in sea water for subsequent 
study. Because injection tends to distend the 
walls and causes the stains to permeate the 
surrounding tissues, this technique was later 
abandoned in favor of the more easily con- 
trolled immersion method. 
The walls of the vasa deferentia were then 
teased open under a dissecting microscope 
and the vitally stained contents studied and 
drawn. 
The vasa deferentia to be sectioned were 
removed quickly and placed in Bouin’s fluid. 
After fixation, the tissues were washed in 
alcohol (70 per cent) and either cleared in 
dioxan and embedded in Tissuemat, cleared 
in toluene and embedded in Tissuemat, or 
placed in dioxan, cleared in methyl-benzoate 
(1 per cent celloidin added), washed in xylene, 
and embedded inTissuemat (54-56°C.). None 
of these modifications was completely satis- 
factory for all regions of the vas deferens. 
All gave good preparations for sectioning the 
small proximal regions and poor preparations 
for sectioning the large, distal regions. This 
was due to the presence of the matrix (Fig. 
10c) which upon dehydration had become 
extremely brittle. The distal region of the vas 
deferens could be sectioned only after im- 
mersing the block in water, although this 
resulted in some swelling of the connective 
tissue. The tissues were sectioned at 10 mi- 
crons, stained in standard alumhaematoxylin, 
and counterstained with eosin. 
The writer wishes to thank Mr. Spencer 
Tinker for supplying the specimens and Mr. 
James Park for making the illustrations. 
