Dec. 8,1923 
Dourine 
503 
were present in any portion of the dura mater. The pia mater showed 
no appreciable changes. 
In the nerve tissues proper the alterations will be considered under 
three headings—vascular changes, neurogliar changes, and degenerative 
changes—which may affect the entire neuron comprising both the nerve 
cell and the nerve fiber, or more often only the nerve fiber. For the 
sake of convenience the changes observed in the nerve cells and those 
noted in the nerve fibers will be described separately. 
VASCULAR CHANGES 
Section stained with hematoxylin and eosin showed good contrast 
between the gray and white substance. A number of well-distended 
capillaries were noted in different parts of the dorsal column and at 
the point of entrance of the .sensory fibers. In the lateral and ventral 
columns the distention of the capillaries was less pronounced except 
those entering the ventral median fissure. In the lateral horns of the 
gray substance near the outer border the capillary distention was quite 
marked, suggestive of hemorrhages. 
NEUROGLIAR CHANGES 
While neurogliar changes are not so appreciable with the hema¬ 
toxylin and eosin stain as with the more delicate silver impregnation of 
the Golgi method or the gold-impregnation method, which bring out 
besides the neuroglia also the spider cells, nevertheless an increase in 
the amount of neuroglia can be observed both in the white substance 
and in the gray substance. This increase is less in the ventral columns 
than in the lateral and dorsal columns. The increase of neuroglia on 
either side of the dorsal septum is quite perceptible, verging on sclerosis, 
and to a less degree at the dorsolateral groove and the lateral columns, 
while in the dorsal columns it is in excess of that in the ventral columns. 
In the gray substance the neurogliar increase is seen in the gray com¬ 
missure around the central canal and in the central gelatinous substance, 
as well as in the ventral and dorsal horns, especially in the Rolandic 
substance capping the dorsal horns. The central canal was open but 
not distended. The single row of ependima cells appeared unaltered. 
The ganglion cells stained with hematoxylin and eosin showed the 
neuroplasm, nucleus, and in some of the cells the nucleolus of the motor 
cells unaltered. The sensory cells and the cells in the column of Clark 
were smaller in size, which might have been due to the presence of 
lymph contained in the perceptibly distended pericellular lymph spaces 
surrounding the sensory ganglion cells. This, however, is somewhat 
questionable, as the increased amount of lymph in the pericellular lymph 
spaces did not cause any appreciable cytologic changes in either the 
motor or the sensory ganglion cells. 
DEGENERATIVE CHANGES 
Degenerative changes in the myelin of the medullated nerve fibers 
could not be detected by the hematoxylin and eosin stain. Pal's modi¬ 
fication of the Weigert method, while not productive of conclusive 
results, gave some indications of beginning degenerative changes, which 
were manifested by the lighter color effect in the degenerated fibers as 
