PHYSIOLOGY OF PEPSIN-FORMING GLANDS. 
665 
instance, I watched three granules lying close together; first one ran into its neighbour, 
then this into the remaining granule, the whole forming one large granule; in it 
several brighter spots appeared; later, the greater part suddenly vanished leaving 
four or five rather bright particles arranged so as to produce the appearance of a 
fragment of a small-meshed network. I have little doubt that the apparent network 
seen in the cells in alcohol specimens has its origin from these residual particles. 
I may mention that the zymogen grannies of the pancreas behave in a similar manner with alcohol, so 
that in alcohol specimens the granules of the inner zone are only the representatives of the actual 
zymogen granules. 
The granules are not obviously affected by irrigation with a 5 per cent, solution of 
ammonium chromate or bichromate ; they disappear however from the gland-cells when 
a piece of the oesophagus is left for one or two days in either of these fluids, the nuclei 
then show distinctly a network or a tangle of fibres. 
According to Heidenhain" the gland cells of the pancreas after a two to three days’ 
stay in 5 per cent, ammonium chromate show a marked striation in their outer por¬ 
tions. In similarly prepared specimens of the oesophageal glands I have not been able 
to observe a similar structure, although in osmic acid specimens the outer zone not 
infrequently has a faint striation. 
It was shown by NussBAUMt that the oesophageal gland granules are preserved by 
osmic acid. In treating glands with this reagent I usually use the following method. 
The tissue is placed in a 1 per cent, solution for twenty-four hours, removed to 50 per 
cent, alcohol for fifteen minutes, and then transferred to 75 per cent, alcohol. Sections 
are cut on the following day. In sections so prepared the granules are stained not 
very deeply and have a yellow-brown tint. The sections as a whole are less stained 
than similarly prepared sections of the stomach. The tint, of staining of the gastric 
gland granules tends to be brown-black rather than yellow-brown. 
Sewall and myself \ found that the oesophageal gland-cells occasionally showed 
clumps of highly refractive granules in their peripheral portions. To distinguish these 
from the proper granules of the cells, we called them “ border” granules. Further 
investigation has shown me that these are really fat globules. Their position is very 
constant and they give a striking appearance to osmic acid specimens. Quite similar 
fat globules are occasionally to be seen in the pancreatic gland-cells. They occur also 
in the gastric gland cells of the Frog, Toad, and Newt (see Plate 78, fig. 7), although 
their arrangement is not quite so regular. In a subsequent paper I hope to discuss the 
causes which influence the appearance of fat globules in the above and in other 
secretory gland-cells. 
The oxyntic glands .—I propose to use the term oxyntic glands ( o^vveiv —to make 
* Heidenhain, Pfluger’s Arcbiv., Bd. x., s. 561, 1875. 
f Op. cit. 
X Langley and Sewall, Proc. Roy. Soc., Oct., 1879, p. 383; Jour, of Physiol., vol. ii., p. 283, 1879. 
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