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Hassall AH. The microscopic anatomy of the human body, in health and disease. (1849) Samuel Hurley, Fleet Street, London.

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This historic 1849 textbook by Hassall describes development and histological structure of the human body. It is often cited as the original source for identification of "Hassall's corpuscles" within the thymus. Note that this is an 1840's textbook with many functional descriptive inaccuracies. Internet Archive See also: Historic Embryology Textbooks History Links: Historic Embryology Papers | Historic Embryology Textbooks | Embryologists | Historic Vignette | Historic Periods | Historic Terminology | Human Embryo Collections | Carnegie Contributions | 17-18th C Anatomies | Embryology Models | Category:Historic Embryology Historic Papers: 1800's | 1900's | 1910's | 1920's | 1930's | 1940's | 1950's | 1960's | 1970's | 1980's Modern Notes:

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The Microscopic Anatomy of the Human body, in Health and Disease

=The Human Body, In Health And Disease.

Illustrated With Numerous Drawings In Colour.

By

Arthur Hill Hassall, M,B.

Author Of A “History Of The British Freshwater Algie

Fellow Of The Linniean Society ;

Member Of The Royal College Of Surgeons Of England ; One Of The Council Of Tile London Botanical Society ; Corresponding Member Of The Dublin Natural History Society.

In Two Volumes.

VOL. I

LONDON: SAMUEL HIGH LEY, 32. FLEET STREET.

1849.

London :

Si’ottiswoodes and Shaw,

New-street-Square.

TO

THOMAS WAR LEA, ESQ., M.P.,

CORONER, ETC. ETC.

Dear Sir,

To you I dedicate the accompanying pages, devoted to the elucidation of a department of minute anatomy of daily increasing interest and importance.

I thus dedicate this work to you on two grounds ; the one personal and private, the other public.

On rny mentioning the design of this work to you — and you were one of the first persons to whom it was mentioned — you were kind enough to express yourself in terms of approval and encouragement, and to profFer any assistance in your power in the furtherance of my undertaking. Of this conduct on your part I have ever entertained a pleasing and grateful remembrance ; and it is this which constitutes the private ground of my dedication.

But I dedicate this work to you on a higher and more important ground. I have for many years seen in you the able and strenuous advocate — amidst much obloquy and misrepresentation — of the rights of that profession of which we are both members : on this high ground I conceive you to be entitled to the gratitude of your professional brethren ; and with this feeling on my mind of your conduct and services in a good cause,

I beg to subscribe myself,

Yours, very faithfully,

THE AUTHOR,

Preface

After three years of more or less constant labour, the welcome and often-wished-for period of the completion of this work has arrived, and the author is at liberty to address hi ms elf to his readers, and to explain the motives and the circumstances which have led to its production.

The idea of this work presented itself to the author’s mind several years since ; it was not, however, until about the period above referred to, that its actual execution was commenced.

At the time when its design was first conceived, the powers of the microscope in developing organic structure were but beginning to be known and appreciated, and the importance of its application to physiology and pathology was but dimly perceived.

At that period, also, but few complete works devoted to microscopic anatomy had appeared in any language, native or foreign; more recently this deficiency, as respects France and Germany, has been well supplied by the appearance of several original works, as those of Donne, Mandl, Lebert, M filler, Henle, Vogel, Gerber, and Wagner; England, however, has not as yet contributed her share of distinct and independent works on general anatomy : not that our observers have been idle, or have neglected a field of inquiry so interesting and important, resting satisfied with mere translations : a whole host of intelligent and able microscopists have applied themselves to the investigation of the ultimate structure of the several tissues and organs, and this with a pre-eminent degree of success. Amongst the more remarkable of these investigators the following may be enumerated : Gillliver, Martin Barry, Busk, Addison, Kiernan, Sharpey, Goodsir, Tomes, Toynbee, Johnson, Simon, Todd and Bowman, Quekett, Erasmus Wilson, Hughes Bennett, Carpenter, Rainey, Handheld Jones, and Gairdner.

The results of the labours of these observers have not as yet, however, been embodied in a separate work ; but some of them have been mixed up with works on descriptive anatomy and physiology, as in Sharpey’s edition of Quain’s Anatomy, in Carpenter’s “ Principles ” and “ Manual ” of Physiology, and in Todd and Bowman’s “ Physiological Anatomy.” The last is an admirable book, full of original research and important facts.

Now, one of the purposes, the accomplishment of which has been attempted in the following pages, has been the collecting together of the numerous communications on general anatomy to be found scattered through the pages of our different scientific periodicals, and their combination into a whole.

The further objects which the author has had in view in the production of this work have been simplicity of desci’iption, fidelity of representation, and the addition of such facts and particulars as have occurred to himself in the course of his own investigations ; and he may take this opportunity of observing, that in but few instances has he written upon a subject without previous investigation.

That a work similar in character to the present was needed is proved by the foregoing details ; and that the objects above referred to have been, to some extent at least, accomplished, is shown by the favourable reception which has hitherto been accorded to this undertaking.

The author considers it right, in justice to himself, that certain disadvantages under which the work has been produced should be mentioned: these were, constant engagement in general practice, much anxiety, and, though last not least, ill health. These would have been sufficient to have deterred many from the undertaking altogether. Although this has not been the effect upon the author, yet it cannot be questioned but that they have operated in some respects to the disadvantage of the work ; and he begs that it may be taken neither as the measure of that of which the subject is capable, nor of the author’s powers of observation and description exercised under more favourable circumstances of health, leisure, and feeling.

The author makes these few remarks not in order to deprecate any fair criticism, but simply that the truth in reference to the production of this work may be known in justice both to the writer and the reader.

Having said thus much in relation to the work itself, the author has now the pleasing task of returning his acknowledgments to those who have in any way assisted him in his laborious though most agreeable task ; these are particularly due to the following: Mr. Quekett, Dr. Handheld Jones, Professor Sharpey, Mr. Tomes, Mr. Bowman, Mr. Busk, Professor Owen, Mr. Canton, Dr. Carpenter, Dr. Letheby, Dr. Robert Barnes, Mr. Ransom, Mr. Pollock, and Mr. Gray, of St. George’s Hospital, Mr. Hett, and Mr. Andrew Ross : they are also due to Mr. Drewry Ottley ; Dr. Radcliffe Hall ; Mr. Coppin, of Lincoln’s Inn ; Messrs. Welch and Jones, of Dalston ; Mr. Berry, of James Street, Covent Garden ; Mr. Cowdry, of Great Torrington ; Dr. Jones, of Brighton ; Dr. Chambers, of Colchester ; Mr. Milner, of Wakefield ; Mr. Walker, of St.John’s Street Road ; Mr. Ringrose, of Potter’s Bar ; Dr. Halpin, of Cavan ; and Mr. H. Hailey, of Birmingham.

To Dr. Letheby I hope shortly to have a second opportunity of rendering my thanks, in connection, viz., with the work on crystals, entitled “ Human Crystallography,” an announcement of which appeared some months since, and towards the completion of which considerable materials have already been collected.

To Mr. Hett my thanks are especially due for having, at considerable trouble and inconvenience, furnished me with very many of the injections required to illustrate Part XV. of the “ Microscopic Anatomy ; ” these, together with numerous other injected preparations of that gentleman which I have seen, have been of first-rate quality ; and the microscopic anatomist has reason to hail the advent of such a man to the cause of general anatomy with the highest satisfaction.

To Mr. Andrew Ross, on this, as on a former occasion, I have to express my obligations, Mr. R. having at all times furnished me with any information I might require, as well as provided me with any necessary apparatus.

Thus much for friends. If in the inditing of this work I have made a single enemy I am sorry for it, and still more so if I have given any real occasion for offence. If in differing from other observers as to certain facts and conclusions I have expressed myself in such a manner as to wound their feelings, as in one or two instances I fear I may have done, I much regret it : the differences amongst men whose common aim is the knowledge of truth as manifested in the works of creation should never be deep or lasting ; for this community of purpose should ever be a firm bond of union between such men, seekers after truth, and should displace from their minds the lesser and grosser feelings of rivalry and ill-will.

Notting Hill,

July 27th, 1849.

Contents

PART I. FLUIDS OF THE HUMAN BODY.

Article I.

The Lymph and Chyle. General description of Lymphatics and Lacteals, 1 . Characters and Structure of Lymph, 4. Ditto of Chyle, 5. Ditto of Fluid of Thoracic Duct, 7. Corpuscles of Thymus, 9.

Article II.

The Blood. Definition, 13. Coagulation of the Blood, without the Body, 14. Formation of the Clot, 15. Formation of the Buffy Coat of the Blood, 18. Cupping of the Clot, 20. Coagulation of the Blood in the Vessels after Death, 21. Signs of Death, 21. Globules of the Blood, 24. The Red Globules, 25. The White Globules, 39. Molecules of the Blood, 64. Blood Globules of Reptiles, Fishes, and Birds, 66. Capillary Circulation, 69. Circulation in the Embryo of the Chick, 74. Venous and Arterial Blood, 80. Modifications of the Blood Corpuscles the results of different external Agencies, 85. Modifications, the results of Decomposition occurring in Blood abandoned to itself without the Body, 86. Modifications, the results of Decomposition occurring in Blood within the Body after Death, 87. Causes of Inflammation, 87. Pathology of the Blood, 89. Importance of a Microscopic Examination of the Blood in Criminal Cases, 116.

Article III.

Mucus, 122. General characters, 122. Mucous Corpuscles, 126. Nature of Mucous Corpuscles, 129. The Mucus of different Organs, 132.

Article IV.

Pus, 137. General characters, 137. Identity of the Pus and Mucous Corpuscle, 138. Distinctive characters of Mucus and Pus, 141. Distinctions between certain forms of Mucus and Pus, 146. Detection of Pus in the Blood, 147. False Pus, 149. Metastatic Abscesses, 149 Venereal Vibrios, 150.

Article V.

Milk, 153. Serum of the Milk, 154. The Globules, 155. Colostrum, 160. Pathological Alterations of the Milk, 163. The Milk of Unmarried Women, 167. The Milk of Women previous to Confinement, 167. The Milk of Women who have been delivered, but who have not nursed their Offspring, 169. Milk in the Breasts of Children, 169. Different kinds of Milk, 169. Good Milk, 171. Poor Milk, 174. Rich Milk, 175. Adulterations of Milk, 176. Formation of Butter, 177. Modifications of Milk abandoned to itself, and in which Putrefaction has commenced, 178. The Occurrence of Medicines, &c. in the Milk, 180.

Article VI.

The Semen, 181. Spermatozoa, Form, Size and Structure of, 182. Motions of the Spermatozoa, 189. Spermatophori, 193. Development of the Spermatozoa, 195. The Spermatozoa essential to Fertility, 198. Pathology of the Seminal Fluid, 201. Application of a Microscopic Examination of the Semen to Legal Medicine, 204.

Article VII.

Saliva. — Bile. — Sweat. — Urine, 207. The Saliva, 208. The Bile, 210. The Sweat, 211. The Urine, 213. Pathology of the Urine, 215.

PART II. SOLIDS OF THE HUMAN BODY.

Article VIII.

Fat, 222. Form, Size and Structure of the Fat Corpuscle, 222. Distribution of Fat, 229. Disappearance of, 231.

Article IX.

Epithelium, Distribution of, 233. Tessellated Epithelium, Structure of, 235. Conoidal Epithelium, naked and ciliated Structure of, 237. Development and Multiplication of Epithelium, 242. Nutrition of Epithelium, 243. Destruction and Renewal of Epitheliiyn, 243.

Article X.

Epidermis, Distribution, Form, Structure, and Development of, 247. Epidermis of the White and Coloured Races, 250. Destruction and Renewal of Epidermis, 250.

Article XL

The Nails, Structure of, 253. Development of, 255.

Article XII.

Pigmext Cells, Structure and Varieties of, 257.

Article XIII.

Hair, Form of, 263. Size of, 264. Structure of, 264. Growth of, 271. Regeneration of, 272, Nutrition of, 273. Distribution of, 274. Colour of, 276. Properties of, 277. The Hair of different Animals, 278.

Article XIV.

Cartilages, 281. True Cartilages, 281. Fibro-Cartilages, 285. Nutrition of Cartilage, 287. Growth and Development of Cartilage, 289.

Article XV.

Boxe, Structure of, 294. Growth and Development of, 303. Accidental Ossification, 313.

Article XVI.

Teeth, Structure of, 314. Development of, 319. Caries of, 325. Tartar on, 326.

Article XVH.

Cellular or Fibrous Tissue, 327. Inelastic or White Fibrous Tissue, 328. Elastic or Yellow Fibrous Tissue, 329. Development of Fibrous Tissue, 334.

Article XVIII.

Muscle, 336. Structure of Muscle, 337. Structure of the Unstriped Muscular Fibrilla, 337. Structure of the Striped Muscular Fibre, 339. Union of Muscle with Tendon, 346. Muscular Contraction, 346. Development of Muscle, 351.

Article XIX.

Nerves, 356. Structure of, 356. Cerebro- Spinal System. Secreting or Cellular Structure of, 356. Tubular Structure of, 359. Sympathetic System, 361. Gelatinous Nerve, Fibres of : 362. Structure of Ganglia, 365. Origin and Termination of Nerves, 366. Paeinian Bodies, 368. Development and Regeneration of Nervous Tissue, 371. Researches of M. Robin, 374.

Article XX.

Organs of Respiration, 378. Aeriferous Apparatus. Bronchial Tubes, and Air Cells, 379. Vascular Apparatus , 381. Pathology, 383.

Article XXI.

Glands, 388. Classification of Glands, 391. Follicles, 393. Stomach Tubes , 395. Fallopian and Uterine Tubes, 396. Solitary Glands, 397. Aggregated Glands, 398. b. Sebaceous Glands, 398. ; comprising the Meibomian Glands, 400. Glands of Hair Follicles , 401., the Caruncula Lachrymalis, 402. Glands of Nipple, 402., and Glands of Prepuce, 403. Mucous Glands , 403. ; including the Labial, Buccal, Lingual, Tonsilitic, Tracheal , and Bronchial Glands ; also the Glands of the Uvula, Brunner s and Cowper's Glands, 403. Brunner's Glands, 406. Cowper's Glands, 407. c. Salivary Glands, 407. Lachrymal Glands, 408. Mammary Glands, 408. Liver, Structure of, 409. Pathology of, 419. Prostate Gland , 422. d. Sudoriferous Glands , 424. Axillary Glands , 426. New Tubular Gland in Oxilla, Plate LVII., fig. 4 b.

Ceruminous Glands, 427. Kidneys, 427. Secreting Apparatus of, including Tubes, Malpighian Bodies, and Epithelial Cells, 428. Vascular Apparatus of, 431. Development of the Kidney, 436. Pathology of, 442. Testis, 475. e. Thymus'Gland, 477. Thyroid Gland, 479. Supra-renal Capsules, 481. Spleen, 483. f. Absorbent Glands , 486. Villi of the Lntestines, 487.

Article XXII.

Organs of the Senses, 491. Touch: Papillary Structure of the Skin, 491. Taste : Papillary Structure of the Mucous Membrane of the Tongue, 494. Smell- Structure of the Mucous Membrane of the Nose, 500. Vision : Structure of the Globe of the Eye, 505. Schlerotic, 505. Cornea, 506. Choroid, 51 1. Retina; 5 16. Vitreous Body ; 519. Crystalline Lens, 520. Hearing : Organ of, 522. External Ear, 522. Middle Ear, 523. Internal Ear, 525.

APPENDIX.

Pituitary Gland, 534. Pineal Gland, 535. Pia Mater , 537. Pacchionian Glands , 538. Development of the Fat Vesicle, 538. On the Structure and Formation of the Nails, 541. On the Ganglionic Character of the Arachnoid Membrane, 544. Structure of the Striped Muscular Fibrilla, 548. Structure of the Bulb of the Hair, 549. Synovial Fringes, 549. Structure of the Sudoriparous Glands, 549.

Index of the Illustrations

THE WHOLE OF THE FOLLOWING ILLUSTRATIONS ARE ORIGINAL WITH BUT NINE EXCEPTIONS.

BLOOD.

Corpcscles of man, the red with the centres clear,

670 (liam. ..... . Plate i.

The same, the red with the centres dark, 670 diam. - — i.

The same, seen in water, 670 diam. - - - — i.

The same, the red united into rolls, 670 diam. - - — i.

Tuberculated condition of the red corpuscles, 670 diam. — i. White corpuscles of man, in water, 670 diam. - - — i.

Corpuscles of frog, 670 diam. - - - - — ii.

The same, with the nucleus of the red visible, 670 diam. — n. The same, in water, 670 diam. - - ~ - — ii.

The same, after prolonged action of water, 670 diam. - — ii.

Nuclei of red corpuscles of frog, 670 diam. - - — ii.

Elongation of red corpuscles of ditto, 670 diam. - — ii.

Corpuscles of the dromedary, 670 diam. - - — in.

The same of the siren, 670 diam. - - - — hi.

The same of the alpaco, 670 diam. - - - — hi.

The same of the elephant, 670 diam. - - - — iv.

The same of the goat, 670 diam. - - - — iv.

Peculiar concentric corpuscles in blood, 670 diam. - — iv.

Coagulated fibrin, 670 diam. - - - - — iv.

The same with granular corpuscles, 670 diam. - - — iv.

Corpuscles of earth-worm, 670 diam. - - - — iv.

Circulation in tongue of frog, 350 diam. - - — v.

The same in web of the foot of ditto, 350 diam. - — v.

Corpuscles in vessels of the same, 670 diam. - - — vi.

White corpuscles in vessels of the same, 900 diam. - — vi

Glands of tongue of frog, 130 diam. ... — vii. Under surface of tongue of same, 500 diam. - - — vii

Red corpuscles of embryo of fowl, G70 diam.

The same, in water, 670 diam. Red corpuscles of adult fowl, 670 diam.

The same of young frog, 670 diam.

The same of the adult frog, 670 diam. The same united into chains, 670 diam.

- Plate ix. Fig. 1

- — ix. — 2

- — ix. j — 3

- — ix. — 4

- — ix. — 5

- — ix. — 6

DEVELOPMENT OF EMBRYO OF CHICK.

The cicatricula prior to incubation

The same at the end of first day of incubation

The same at the thirty-sixth hour

The same at the close of the second day

The same at the end of the third day The embryo on the conclusion of the fourth day

The same at the termination of the fifth day

The embryo of six days old The embryo of the ninth day of development The same at the end of the seventh day, detached

Ditto at the end of the ninth day, also detached

MUCUS.

Corpuscles of, in their ordinary condition, 670 diam.

The same collapsed, 670 diam. The same, showing the action of water, 670 diam.

The same acted on by dilute acetic acid, 670 diam.

The same after the action of undilute acetic acid, 670 diam. - - - - The same in process of development, 670 diam.

Vaginal mucus, 670 diam. vEsophageal mucus, 670 diam. Bronchitic ditto, 670 diam. Vegetation in mucus, 670 diam. Mucus of stomach, 670 diam. Vaginal tricho-monas - - -

— XI.

PUS.

Corpuscles of laudable pus, 670 diam. ... — yttt. The same acted on by acetic acid, 670 diam. - - — yttt .

The same treated with water, 670 diam. - - — xni.

Epithelial scales from pustule, 670 diam. - - — xm.

Corpuscles from scrofulous abscess, 670 diam. - - — yttt .

Vibrios in venereal pus, 670 diam. - - - — yttt.

MILK.

Globules of healthy milk of woman, 670 diam. - Plate xiv.

The same of impoverished human milk, 670 diam. - — xiv.

Colostrum, 670 diam. - - - - — xiv.

Ditto, with several corpuscles, 670 diam. - - — xiv.

Globules of large size, 670 diam. - - - — xiv.

Ditto, aggregated into masses, 670 diam. - - — xiv.

Pus in the milk of woman, 670 diam. - - - — xv.

Blood corpuscles in human milk, 670 diam. - - — xv.

Globules after treatment by ether, 670 diam. - — xv.

The same after the application of acetic acid, 670 diam. — xv. Caseine globules, 670 diam. - - - - — xv.

Milk of cow adulterated with flour, 670 diam. • — xv.

SEMEN.

Spermatozoa and spermatophori of man, 900 diam. - — xvi. Spermatozoa of Certhia familiaris - - - — xvi.

FAT.

The fat vesicles of a child, 130 diam. - - — xvm.

Ditto of an adult, 130 diam. - - - — xvm.

Ditto of the pig, with apparent nucleus, 130 diam. - — xix.

Ditto of the same, ruptured, 130 diam. - - — xix.

Ditto of marrow of the femur of a child, 130 diam. - — xix.

Ditto, with the membranes of the vesicles ruptured, 130 diam. - - - - - . — xix.

Crystals on human fat vesicles, 130 - - - — xix.

Fat vesicles in melicerous tumour, 130 diam. - — xix.

Ditto contained in parent cells, 120 diam. - - — lxix.

Ditto after the absorption of the parent cell-membrane,

120 diam. - - - - - . — lxix.

EPITHELIUM.

Buccal epithelial cells, 670 diam.

Cuneiform ditto from duodenum, 670 diam. Ciliary epithelium from trachea of frog, 670 diam. Human ciliary epithelium from lung, 670 diam.

Ditto from trachea, 670 diam.

Tesselated epithelium from tongue of frog, 670 diam. Ditto from tongue of triton, 670 diam.

Ditto from serous coat of liver, 670 diam.

Ditto from choroid plexus, 670 diam.

Ditto from vena cava inferior, 670 diam.

Ditto from arch of the aorta, 670 diam. - - Plate xxu.

Ditto from surface of the uterus, 670 diam. - - — xxii.

Ditto from the internal surface of the pericardium, 670 diam.

Ditto of lateral ventricles of brain, 670 diam.

Ditto of mouth of menobranchus lateralis, 670 diam,

Fig. 4

EPIDERMIS.

Upper surface of epidermis, 130 diam.

Under surface of ditto, 130 diam.

Epidermis of palm, viewed with a lens only Ditto, magnified 100 diam. Vertical section of ditto, 100 diam. Ditto of one of the ridges, 100 diam.

Epidermis from back of hand, viewed with a lens A portion of same more highly magnified, 100 diam. Epidermis from back of hand, 100 diam.

Ditto, viewed on its under surface, 100 diam. Portion of ditto, with insertion of hairs, 100 diam. Ditto from back of neck, 670 diam. Detached cells of epidermis, 670 diam.

Cells of vernix caseosa, 130 diam.

Cells of ditto, 670 diam. ...

NAILS.

Longitudinal section of nail, 130 diam.

Ditto, showing unusual direction of striae, 130 diam. Ditto, with different distribution of striae, 130 diam. Transverse section of nail, 130 diam.

Cells of which the layers are formed, 130 diam. and 670 diam. Union of nail with true skin, 100 diam.

PIGMENT CELLS.

Cells of pigmentum nigrum (humanj, 760 diam. Ditto of the same of the eye of a pig, 350 diam. Stellate cells of lamina fusca, 100 diam.

Ditto more highly magnified, 350 diam.

Cells of skin of negro, 670 diam.

Ditto from lung, 670 diam. - - Cells in epidermis of negro, 350 diam.

Ditto in areola of nipple, 350 diam. Ditto of bulb of hair, 670 diam.

HAIR.

Bulb of hair, 130 diam. - - - - Plate xxvm. Fig. 1

Root of a grey hair, 130 diam. - — xxvm. — 2

Cells of outer sheath, 670 diam. - - - — xxvm. — 3

Portion of inner sheath, 350 diam. - - - — xxvm. — 4

Stem of grey hair of scalp, 350 diam. - - — xxix. — 1

Transverse section of hair of beard, 130 diam. - — xxix. — 2

Another section of the same, 130 diam. - - — xxix. — 3

Fibres of the stem of the hair, 670 diam. - - • — xxix. - — - 4

Apex of hair of perineum, 350 diam. - - — xxix. — 5

Ditto of scalp, terminating in fibres, 350 diam. - — xxix. — 6

Ditto of same with needle-like extremity, 350 diam. — xxix. — 7 Root of hair of scalp, 130 diam. - - — xxix. — 8

Another form of same, 1 30 diam. - - - — xxix. 9

Hair with two medullary canals, 130 diam. - — xxix. — 10

Insertion of hairs in follicles, 100 diam. - - — xxvi. — 3

Disposition of hairs on back of hand - - — xxiv. — 5

CARTILAGE.

Transverse section of cartilage of rib, 350 diam. Parent cells seen in section of ditto, 350 diam. Vertical section of articular cartilage, 130 diam. Ditto of intervertebral cartilage, 80 diam. Cartilage of concha of ear, 350 diam.

Cells of intervertebral cartilage, 350 diam. Section of cartilage and bone of rib, 130 diam. Ditto of one of the rings of the trachea, 350 diam Ditto of thyroid cartilage with fibres, 130 diam. Cartilage of ossification, 100 diam. Section of primary cancelli, 350 diam.

Ditto of same, more advanced, 350 diam. Cartilage of ossification, .350 diam. Section of cartilaginous epiphysis, 30 diam.Ditto of same, with bone, 30 diam.

Ditto of same, more highly magnified, 330 diam. Section of cartilage and bone of rib, 130 diam.

BONE.

Transverse section of ulna, 60 diam. - - — xxxn. — 1

Cross section of Haversian canals, 220 diam. - — xxxn. — 2

Ditto of same more highly magnified, 670 diam. - — xxxn. — 3

Longitudinal section of long bone, 40 diam. - — xxxn. 4

Parietal bone of foetus, 30 diam. - - - — x.xxm. 1

Portion of same more highly magnified, 60 diam. - — xxxm. 2

Spiculae of bone of foetal humerus, 350 diam. - Plate xxxnr. Lamina of a long bone, 500 diam. - - — xxxm.

Cancelli of long bone of foetus, 350 diam. - - — xxxm.

Section of femur of pigeon fed on madder, 220 diam. — xxxm.

Section of epiphysis and shaft of foetal femur, 1 00 diam. — xxxxv Transverse section of primary cancelli, 350 diam. — xxxiv. Section of cancelli more advanced, 350 diam. - — xxxiv.

Ditto of epiphysis and shaft of foetal femur, 350 diam. — xxxiv. Ditto of cartilaginous epiphysis of humerus, 30 diam. — xxxv. Ditto of same with bone, 30 diam. - - - — xxxv.

The same more highly magnified, 330 diam. - — xxxv.

Blood-vessels and medullary cells - - - — xxxv

Section of shaft of foetal long bone, 20 diam. - — xxxv.

Ditto of bone and cartilage of rib, 130 diam. - — xxxv.

TEETH.

Vertical section of insisor tooth, seen with lens - — xxxvi. — 1

Tubes of dentine near their termination, 670 diam. — xxxvi. — 2 A not unfrequent condition of same, 670 diam. - — xxxvi. — 3

Tubes of dentine near their commencement, 670 diam. — xxxvi. — 4

Oblique section of tubes of dentine, 670 diam. - — xxxvi. — 5

Transverse section of ditto, 670 diam. - - — xxxvi. — 6

Transition of tubes into bone cells, 670 diam. - — xxxvi. — 7

Dilatation of ditto into bone cells, 670 diam. - — xxxvi. — 8

Section of cementum, 670 diam. - - - — xxxvn. — 1

Ditto of same traversed by tubes, 670 diam. - — xxxvii. — 2

Ditto of same showing angular cells, 670 diam. - — xxxvii. — 3 Fungus on section of dentine, 670 diam. - - — xxxvii. — 4

Oil-like globules on section of same, 350 diam. - — xxxvii. — 5

Section of secondary dentine, 350 diam. - - — xxxvn. — 6

Ditto of bicuspid tooth, seen with lens only - — xxxvn. — 7

Vertical section of enamel, 220 diam. - - — xxxix. — 3

Enamel cells, seen lengthways, 670 diam. - - — xxxix. — 4

Cross section of cells of enamel, 670 diam. - - — xxxix. — 5

FIBROUS TISSUE.

Longitudinal section of tendon, 670 diam. Transverse section of same, 670 diam.

White fibrous tissue, 670 diam.

Mixed ditto, 670 diam. ... Yellow fibrous tissue, 670 diam.

Different form of ditto, 670 diam.

Development of blood-vessels, 350 diam. Areolar form of mixed fibrous tissue, 330 diam. Blood-vessels of pia mater, 350 diam.

Development of white fibrous tissue, 670 diam. - Plate xr.ni. Portion of dnrtos, 670 diam. - - - — xi.m.

Section of corpora cavernosa, slightly magnified - — xr.nr.

MUSCLE.

Portion of striped muscle, 60 diam Fragment of unstriped ditto, 670 diam.

Muscular fibrillse of the heart, 670 diam.

Fragment of striped muscle of frog, 350 diam. Fibres and fibrillae of voluntary muscle, 350 diam. Fibres acted on by acetic acid, 350 diam.

Ditto in different degrees of contraction, 350 diam. Union of muscle with tendon, 1 30 diam. Transverse section of muscular fibres, 350 diam. Fibres of voluntary muscle of foetus, 670 diam. Zigzag disposition of fibres, 350 diam.

Striped muscular fibre and fibrillae, 670 diam.

NERVES.

Tubes of motor nerve, 670 diam. The same after the action of spirit, 670 diam.

The same after the action of acetic acid, 670 diam. Portion of Gasserian ganglion, 350 diam.

Nerve tubes of cerebellum, 670 diam.

Ditto of cerebrum, with clear cells, 670 diam. Varicose condition of ditto, 670 diam.

Filaments of great sympathetic, 670 diam.

Cells of grey matter of cerebellum, 670 diam.

Ditto of same, inner stratum, 670 diam.

Caudate ganglionary cells, 350 diam.

(Spinal cord, Medulla oblongata. Cerebellum.) Ditto from locus niger of crus cerebelli, 350 diam. Ditto from hippocampus major, 350 diam.

Ditto from locus niger of crus cerebri, 350 diam.

Pacinian bodies, natural size Ditto, magnified 60 diam. A single Pacinian body, 100 diam. An anomalous Pacinian body Two other anomalous Pacinian bodies

Cells from corpus dentatum of cerebellum, 350 diam.

LUNG.

Pleural surface of lung, 30 diam.

- Plate xlvii. Fig. 1

Ditto, with vessels of first order, 30 diam. - - — xlvii. — 2

Ditto, magnified 100 diam. - - - — xlvii. — 3

Section of lung injected with tallow, 100 diam. - — xlviii. — 1

Casts of air-cells, 350 diam. - - — - xlviii. — 2

Section of lung injected with size, 100 diam. - — xlviii. — 3

Pleural surface of lung, with vessels of second

order, 100 diam. - - - - — xlix. — 1

Section of lung, with air-cells uninjeeted, 100 diam. — xlix. — 2

Capillaries of lung, 100 diam. - - - — xlix. — 3

GLANDS.

Follicles of stomach, with epithelium, 100 diam. - —

Ditto of large intestine, in similar condition, 100 diam. — Ditto of same, without epithelium, 60 diam. - —

Termination of follicles of large intestine, 60 diam. - —

Follicles of Lieburkulin in duodenum, 60 diam. - —

Vessels of ditto of appendix vermiformis, 100 diam. — Ditto of same of stomach of cat, 100 diam. - —

Stomach tubes, cross section of, 100 diam - - • — •

Longitudinal view of stomach tubes, 220 diam. - —

Ditto of the same, 100 diam. - - - —

Villi of small intestine, with epithelium, 100 diam. — Ditto, without epithelium, showing lacteals, 100 diam. — Vessels of villi in duodenum, 60 diam. - - —

Ditto of same in jejunum, 60 diam. - - —

Ditto of same of foal, 60 diam. - - - —

Solitary glands of small intestine, natural size - —

Ditto of large intestine, slightly magnified - —

Aggregated or Peyer's glands , 20 diam. - - —

Side view of same, 20 diam. - - - —

Sebaceous glands in connection with hair, 33 diam. - —

Ditto from caruncula lachrymalis - - - —

An entire Meibomian gland, 27 diam. - - —

Illustrations of Mucous glands, 45 diam. - - —

Parotid gland of embryo of sheep, 8 diam. - - —

Ditto of human subject, further developed, 40 diam. — Mammary gland, portion of, slightly magnified - —

Ditto of same, with milk globules, 90 diam. - —

Ditto of same, more highly magnified, 198 diam. - —

Liver , section of, showing the lobules, 35 diam. - —

Surface of ditto, showing the intra-lobular veins, 15

diam. - - - . _ .

Section of liver showing the hepatic venous plexus,

20 diam. - - - . _ .

l. — 1

l. — 2 l. — 6 l. — 7 m. — 5

LI. — 1

LI. 2

L. 3

L. 4

L. — 5

L1I. — 1

LU. 2

LI. — 3

LI. 4

LI. 5

LXII. 6

LI. 6

m. — 3

L1I. 4

LIII. 3

LIU. 1

LIII. — 2

LIII. 4

LIV. 1

LIV. — 2

LIV. 5

LIV. 3

LIV. 6

LIV. 4

LV. 1

LV. — 2

INDEX OP THE ILLUSTIIATIONS.

Vessels of portal system, 20 diam. - - -Piute lv.

Section of liver, showing interlobular vessels, 24 diam. — lv.

Surface of liver, showing portal capillary system, 20

diam. - - - - - - — lv.

Ditto, showing both hepatic and portal venous systems,

20 diam. - - - - - - — 1VI.

Ditto, with both systems completely injected, 20 diam. — lvi. Ditto, with portal vein and hepatic artery, 18 diam. - — lvi.

A terminal biliary duct, 378 diam. - - - — lvii.

Secreting cells of liver in healthy state, 378 diam. - — lvii.

Ditto, gorged with bile, 378 diam. - - - — lvh.

Ditto, containing oil globules, 378 diam. - - — lvii.

Prostate gland , calculi of, 45 diam. - - - — lvii.

New tubular gland in axilla, 54 diam. - - — lvii.

Tubulus of ditto, 198 diam. - - - - — lvii.

Ceruminous glands, portions of, 45 diam. - - — lvii.

Sudoriferous gland, tubulus of, 198 diam. - - — lvii.

Kidney, tubes of, with epithelium, 99 diam. - - — lviii.

Cross section of elastic framework, 99 diam. - - — lviii.

Ditto of framework and tubes, 99 diam. - - — lviii.

Section of vessels in tubular part of kidney, 33 diam. — lviii. The same vessels seen lengthways, 33 diam. - - — lviii.

Tubes with epithelium, 378 diam. - - - — lviii.

Corpora Malpighiana of kidney, injected, 40 diam. - — lxix.

Uriniferous tubes of a bird, 40 diam. - - — lix.

Corpora Malpighiana of the horse, 40 diam. - - — lix.

Intertubular vessels of surface of kidney, 90 diam. - — lix.

Transverse section of injected kidney, 67 diam. - — lix.

Uninjected corpora Malpighiana - - - — lx.

With capsule, 100 diam. - - - — — .

Without ditto, 100 diam. - - - — — .

Malpighian body, more highly magnified, 125 diam. • — lx.

Afferent and efferent vessels of Malpighian tuft, 45 diam. — lx. Epithelial cells of the tubes, 378 diam. - - — lx.

T cutis, tubes of, 27 diam. - - - - — lx.

Tubes of ditto, more highly magnified, 99 diam. - — lx.

Vessels of thyroid gland, injected, 18 diam. - - — lxi.

Vesicles of ditto, viewed with a lens only - - — lxi.

Ditto of same, magnified 40 diam. - - - — lxi.

Ditto of 3ame, showing the structure of their walls,

67 diam. - - - - - - — lxi.

Lobes and vesicles of same in their ordinary condition,

27 diam. - - - - - - — lxi.

Nuclei of vesicles of thyroid, 378 diam. - - — lxi.

Follicles of thymus, with vessels, 33 diam. - - — lxi.

Capsule of ditto, 54 diam. - - - - — lxi.

xxi

Fig. 3

— 4

— 5

— 3

— 4

— 2 — 1

— 2a

— 2 n

— 2 c

— 3

— 4 a

— 4b

— 5

— 4c

— 1 — 2

— 3

— 4

— ,T

— 6 — 1 2

— 3

— 4

— 5

2

— A

— n

— 3 A

— 3 b

— 3 c

— 1

— 4

— 1 — 2 — 3

— 5

— 6

— 7

— 8

XX 11

INDEX OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS.

Nuclei and simple cells of same, 378 diam. - - Plate lxi. Fig. 9

Compound or parent cells of ditto, 378 diam. - — lxi. — 10

Spleen, nuclei and vessels of, 378 diam. - - — lxii. — 1

Supra-renal capsule, plexus on surface of, 54 diam. - — lxii. — 2

Tubes of ditto, 90 diam. - - - - — ixn. — 3 a

Nuclei, parent cells, and molecules of ditto, 378 diam. — lxii. — 3 b Vessels of supra-renal capsule, 90 diam. - - — Lxn. — 5

Pineal gland, compound bodies of, 130 diam. - — lxix. — 7

Pituitary gland, cells and fibrous tissue of, 350 diam. — lxix. — 8

ANATOMY OF THE SENSE OF TOUCH.

Epidermis of palm of hand, 40 diam.

Ditto of back of hand, 40 diam.

Papillae of palm of hand, 54 diam.

Ditto of back of hand, 54 diam.

Epidermis of palm, under surface of, 54 diam. Ditto of back of hand, under surface of, 54 diam. Vessels of papillae of palm of hand, 54 diam.

Ditto of same of back of hand, 54 diam

— LXIII.

— LXIII.

— LXIII.

— LXIII.

LXIII.

LXIII.

LXIII.

LXIII.

ANATOMY OF THE SENSE OF TASTE.

Filiform papillae, with long epithelial appendages,

41 diam. - - - - - - — lxiv.

Ditto, with shorter epithelial processes, 27 diam. - — lxiv. Ditto, without epithelium, near apex of tongue, 27 diam. — lxiv. Ditto, without epithelium, near centre of same, 31 diam. — lxiv. Filiform and fungiform papillae, without epithelium,

27 diam. - - - - - - — lxiv.

Peculiar form of compound papillae, 27 diam. - — lxiv.

Filiform papillae in different states, 27 diam. - — lxiv.

Ditto, with epithelium partially removed, 27 diam. - — lxiv.

Follicles of tongue, with epithelium, 27 diam. - — lxv.

Ditto, without epithelium, 27 diam. - - - — lxv.

Ditto, viewed as an opaque object, 27 diam. - - lxv.

Filiform papillae from point of tongue, 27 diam. - — lxv.

Follicles and papillae from side of ditto, 20 diam. - — lxv.

Simple papillae, with epithelium, 45 diam. - - — lxv.

Filiform papillae, with ditto, 18 diam. - - — lxv.

The same, viewed with a lens only - - - — lxv.

Side view of certain compound papillae, 20 diam. - — lxv.

Simple papilla from under surface of tongue, 54 diam. — lxv. Compound and simple ditto from side of tongue, 23 diam.

— 5

— 6

— 7

— 8 — 1 2

— 3

— 4

— 5

— 6

— 7

— 8

— 9

— 10

LXV.

1 I

INDEX OF TIIE ILLUSTRATIONS. xxiii

A caliciform papilla, uninjected, 1(5 diam. - - Plate lxvi. Fig. 1

Ditto, with the vessels injected, 16 diam. - - — lxvi. — 2

Filiform papillae near centre of tongue, injected, 27

diam. - - - - - - — lxvi. — 3

Ditto near tip of tongue, injected, 27 diam. - - — lxvi. — 4

Simple papillae, injected, 27 diam. - - - — lxvi. — 5

Fungiform ditto, injected, 27 diam. - - - — lxvi. — 6

ANATOMY OF THE GLOBE OF THE EYE.

Vertical section of cornea, 54 diam. A portion of retina, injected, 90 diam.

Section of schlerotic and cornea, 54 diam. Vessels of choroid, ciliary processes, and iris, 14 diam. Nuclei of granular layer of retina, 378 diam.

Cells of the same, 378 diam. Ditto of vesicular layer of retina, 378 diam.

Caudate cells of retina, 378 Cells of the membrana Jacobi, 378 diam.

Fibres of the crystalline lens ; a, 198 diam.; b, 378 dian A condition of the posterior elastic lamina, 78 diam. Peculiar markings on same, 78 diam.

Crystalline lens of sheep, slightly magnified Fibres of lens near its centre, 198 diam.

Stellate pigment in eye of sheep, slightly magnified Venae vorticosae of eye of sheep, injected Conjunctival epithelium, oblique view of, 378 diam. Ditto, front view of, 378 diam. ... Ciliary muscle, fibres of, 198 diam. Gelatinous nerve fibres of retina, 378 diam.

Cellated structure of vitreous body, 70 diam.

Fibres on posterior elastic lamina, 70 diam.

Portion of the iris, 70 diam. ...

Epithelium of crystalline lens, 198 diam.

Ditto of the aqueous humour, 198 diam.

Hexagonal pigment of the choroid, 378 diam.

Stellate pigment of same, 378 diam.

Irregular pigment of uvea, 378 diam.

■ — LX VII.

—

l

■ — LX VII.

—

2

• LXVII.

—

3

. LXVII.

—

4

■ LXVII.

—

5

LXVII.

—

6

— Lxvn.

—

7

• LXVII.

—

8

■ — Lxvn.

—

9

a. — lxvii.

—

10

LXVII.

—

11.

LXVII.

—

12

■ — LXVII.

—

13

LXVII.

—

14

— LXVI II.

—

1

• LXVIII.

—

2

LXVIII.

—

3

LXVIII.

—

5

LXVIII.

—

4

— LXVIII.

—

6

LXVIII.

—

7

— LXVIII.

—

8

— Lxvm.

—

9

LXVIII.

—

10

LXVIII.

—

11

LXVIII.

—

12

LXVIII.

—

13

LXVIII.

—

14

ANATOMY OF TIIE NOSE.

Mucous membrane of true nasal region, 80 diam. Ditto of pitutiary region, injected, 80 diam. Capillaries of olfactory region of human foetus, 100 diam.

lxix. — 1

i.xix. — 2

12

LXIX.

XXIV

INDEX OE THE ILLUSTRATIONS.

ANATOMY OF THE EAR.

Denticulate laminae of the osseous zone, 100 cliam. - Plate lxix. Fig. 3 Tympanic surface of lamina spiralis, 300 diam. - — lxix. — 4

Inner view of cochlearis muscle of sheep - — lxix. — 5

Plexiform arrangement of cochlear nerves in ditto,

30 diam. - - - - - - — lxix. — G

VILLI.

Villi of foetal placenta, injected, 54 diam. - - — lxii. — 4

Ditto of choroid plexus, 45 diam. - - - — lxix. — 9

Plates VIII., XVII., and XXXVIII., have been entirely omitted, in order to make room for more important matter. Plate VIII. was to have illustrated the solid constituents of the chyle : of these the principal are the granular corpuscles so often figured in this work ; an entire plate was therefore scarcely necessary to illustrate this subject. Plate XVII. was to have exhibited the comparative anatomy of the spermatozoa : this plate also could be well dispensed with. Lastly, Plate XXXVIII. was to have shown the development of the dentinal tissues : this, although the most requisite of the three plates, could' also be omitted without injury to the work.

THE

MICROSCOPIC ANATOMY

OF

THE HUMAN BO 1) Y.

Part I. THE FLUIDS.

Tiie constituents which enter into the formation of the body, and by the combination of which the human frame is built up, naturally resolve themselves into two orders, Fluids and Solids, the latter proceeding from the former.

In accordance with this natural division of the elements which enter into the composition of the body, it is intended to divide this work into two parts, the first of which will treat of those components of our framework which are first formed — the Fluids ; and the second will be devoted to the consideration of those constituents which proceed from the fluid elements, viz. the Solids.

Of the fluids themselves, it is difficult to determine upon any subdivision which shall be altogether without objection, perhaps the most practicable and useful division of them which can be made is, into ORGANISED and UNORGANISED.

To the above arrangement of the fluids the following exception might be taken : all the fluids in the animal economy, it may be said, are to be considered as organised, inasmuch as their elaboration is invariably the result of organisation. But it is intended that the words organised and unorganised, when applied to the fluids in this work, should have a very different, as well as a more precise signi ii

2

THE FLUIDS.

fication, and that those fluids only should be called organised which contain in them, as essential, or at all events as constant constituents, certain solid and organised particles, while those liquids which are compounded of no such solid matters, as essential portions of them, should be termed unorganised.

In the first category, the lymph, chyle, hloocl, mucus, as normal, and pus, as an abnormal fluid, would find their places together with the milk and semen. The fluids of this class, it will be seen, belong especially to nutrition and reproduction, and admit also, naturally, of arrangement into two series ; in the first, those fluids which are concerned in the nutrition and growth of the species itself would be comprised, as lymph, chyle, and blood ; and in the second, those liquids which appertain to the reproduction, nutrition, and growth of the new species, as the milk and semen, would be admitted.

In the second category, viz. that of unorganised fluids, the perspirable fluid, the saliva, the bile, and the urine, as well as probably the fluid of the pancreas, and of certain other glandular organs would be found.

This arrangement of the fluids of the human body might be represented tabularly, thus —

FLUIDS.

Organised. 1st series. Normal : Lymph. Chyle. Blood. Mucus. Abnormal : Pus.

2d series.

Milk.

Semen.

Unorganised. Perspirable fluid. Saliva.

Bile.

Urine.

Pancreatic fluid (?) &c. &c. &c.

If the terms organised and unorganised be objected to, the words compound and simple might take their places, and would well express the distinction which characterises the two series of fluids, the former appellation being applied to those fluids which are compounded of both a solid and a fluid element, and the latter to those which do not possess this double constitution.

Aut. I. THE LYMPH AND THE CHYLE.

It will perhaps render the description of the lymph and the chyle more intelligible, if the observations which we shall have to make on these fluids are preceded by a short sketch of the lymphatic system itself. This system consists of vessels and of glands, which are of the kind which has been denominated conglobate. The vessels have many of the characters of veins, commencing as mere radicles,' which unite with each other to form larger trunks, and their interior surface is provided with valves : they arise from all parts of the system, even the most remote; those of the lower extremities and abdominal viscera form by their union the thoracic duct, which, running along the left side of the spinal column, unites with the left subclavian vein, near its junction with the internal carotid, its contents becoming mingled with the torrent of blood in that vein. The lymphatics of the left side of the head and neck, as well as those of the arm of the corresponding side, unite with the same thoracic duct in the superior part of its course. On the right side, however, a smaller separate duct formed by the union of the lymphatics of the upper part of that side of the body, is frequently met with, and this empties itself into the right subclavian vein. All these lymphatic vessels, in their course, pass through the glands above referred to, and in which the fluid or lymph contained by them doubtless undergoes further elaboration. The lymphatics arc remarkable for their equal and small diameter, which allows of the passage of the lymph through them by mere capillary attraction ; they arc also to be regarded as the chief, though not the exclusive, agents of absorption in the system, the veins likewise taking part in this process.

The lymphatics of the upper and lower portions of the body imbibe and carry along with them the various effete matters and particles which arc continually being given off by the older solid constituents of our frame, and which arc as constantly undergoing a process of regeneration ; these they redigest and reassimilate, into a fluid endowed with nutritive properties, denominated lymph, and which is poured into the thoracic duct.

Those lymphatics, however, which arise on the surface of the small intestines, and which, passing through the mesentery, join the thoracic duct, have received a special appellation, being called lacteals: this name has been bestowed upon them on account of the milk-like appearance of the fluid which they contain, viz. the chyle, a fluid derived from the digestion of the various articles of food introduced into the stomach, and which also is emptied into the thoracic duct.

But the lacteals are not always filled with chyle ; they are only to be found so when digestion has been fully accomplished ; when an animal is fasting, they, like other lymphatics, contain merely lymph.

The contents of the thoracic duct likewise vary : it never contains pure chyle, but during digestion a fluid composed of both chyle and lymph, the former predominating, and digestion being completed, it is filled with lymph only.

It follows therefore, that if we are desirous of ascertaining the proper characters of chyle, our observations should not be conducted on the fluid of the thoracic duct, but on that of the lacteals themselves. It is a common error to regard and to describe the contents of that duct, at all times, and under all circumstances, as chyle, and it is one which has led to the formation of some false conclusions.

We will describe first the lymph, next the chyle, and lastly the mingled fluid presented to us in the thoracic duct.

The lymph is a transparent colourless liquid, exhibiting a slightly alkaline reaction, and containing, according to the analysis of Dr. G. O. Rees, 0T20 of fibrin, with merely a trace of fatty matter.

When collected in any quantity, and left to itself, the lymph, like the chyle, separates into a solid and a fluid

THE LYMPH AND THE CI1TLE.

5

portion : the solid matter consists of fibrin, and contains mixed up with its substance numerous granular and spherical corpuscles, identical with the white globules of the blood ; the serum is transparent, and contains but few of tbe corpuscles referred to.

The chyle is a whitish, opaque, oleaginous, and thick fluid, also manifesting an alkaline reaction, and containing, according to the analysis of the gentleman above mentioned, 0*370 of fibrin, and 3*601 of fatty matter.*

There are present in it solid matters of several kinds.

1st, Minute particles, described by Mr. Gnlliverj, and which constitute the “ molecular base ” of the chyle, imparting to it colour and opacity : their size is estimated from the □ to the 2 Tijoo an inch in diameter ; they are “remarkable’’ not only for their minuteness, but also for “ their equal size, their ready solubility in tether, and their unchangeableness when subjected to the action of numei’ous other re-agents which quickly affect the chyle globules.”

Mr. Gulliver has ascertained the interesting fact, that the milky appearance occasionally presented by the blood is due to the presence of the molecules of the chyle. This peculiar appearance of the blood, which so many observers have observed and commented upon, but of which none save Mr. Gulliver have offered any satisfactory explanation, is noticed to occur especially in young and well-fed animals during digestion ; as also in the human subject, in certain pathological conditions, and sometimes in connexion with a gouty diathesis.

2nd, Granular Corpuscles, similar to those contained in the lymph, and identical with the white globules of the blood, but rather smaller than those, and which will be fully and minutely described in the chapter on the Blood. Mr. Gulliver, in his excellent article on the chyle, makes the remark that the magnitude of the globules hardly differs, from whatever part of the lacteal system they may have been obtained.

• See article “ Lymphatic System ” by Mr. Lane, in Cyclopaedia of

Anatomy and Physiology, April, 1841.

• See Appendix to the translation of Gerber’s General Anatomy, p. 89.

The granular corpuscles are found but sparingly in the chyle of the inferent lacteals, abundantly in that of the mesenteric glands themselves, and in medium quantity in the efferent lacteals, and in the fluid of the thoracic duct.

3rd, Oil Globules, which vary exceedingly in dimensions.

4th, Minute Spherules , probably albuminous, the exact size or form of which it is difficult to estimate, and which are not soluble in tether, as arc those which constitute the molecular base.

Chyle, when left to itself, like the lymph, separates into a solid and fluid portion : the coagulum, however, is larger and firmer than that of lymph, in consequence of the greater quantity of fibrin which it contains ; it is also more opaque from the presence, not merely of the white granular corpuscles, but principally of the molecules of the chyle ; the serum is likewise opaque, the opacity arising from the same cause, the peculiar characteristic molecules of the chyle.

The lymph and the chyle may now be contrasted together. Both are nutritive fluids, the nutritious ingredients contained in the one being derived from the re-digestion of the various matters which are constantly thrown off from the older solids, those of the other being acquired from the food digested in the stomach : the one is a transparent fluid, containing but little fibrin, a trace only of oil, and but few white corpuscles ; the other is an opaque, white, thick, and oily fluid, more rich in fibrin, and laden with molecules, white corpuscles, oil globules, and minute spherules; the one, therefore, is less nutritive than the other.

It has been asserted that chyle until after its passage through the mesenteric glands would not coagulate ; the fallacy of this assertion has been demonstrated by Mr. Lane*, who collected the chyle previous to its entrance into those glands, and found that it did coagulate, although with but little firmness, less indeed than it exhibited subsequent to its passage through the glands.

• See Art. “ Lymphatic System,” loc. cit.

The Lymph, and the Chyle

We come now to consider the nature of the contents of the thoracic duct.

These, as already stated, vary according to the condition of the animal ; thus, if it be fasting, the duct contains only lymph ; if, however, the contents be examined soon after a full meal, they will be found to present nearly all the characters, physical and vital, of the chyle, and in addition, especially in the fluid obtained from the upper part of the duct, a pink hue, said to be deepened by exposure to the air.

This red colour has been noticed by many observers, and it is now generally agreed that it arises from the presence in the fluid of the thoracic duct of numerous red blood corpuscles.

The question is not as to the existence of blood discs in that fluid, but as to the manner in which their presence therein should be accounted for, whether it is to be regarded as primary and essential, or as secondary and accidental.

Most observers agree in considering the presence of blood discs in the chyle of the thoracic duct as accidental, although they account for their existence in it in different ways.

The distinguished Hewson * detected blood corpuscles in the efferent lymphatics of the spleen, which empty their contents into the thoracic duct, and in this way he conceived that the fluid of that vessel acquired its colour.

The accuracy of Hewson’s observation, as to the lymphatics of the spleen containing blood corpuscles, is confirmed by Mr. Gulliver, of the fidelity, originality, and number of whose remarks on the microscopic anatomy of the animal fluids it is impossible to speak in terms of too high praise. Mr. Gulliver detected blood corpuscles in the efferent lymphatics of the spleen of the ox and of the horse.

Muller, and MM. Gruby and Delafont, attribute the presence of blood discs in the chyle to the regurgitation of a small quantity of blood from the subclavian vein : if they are really foreign to the chyle, this is the most probable channel of their ingress.

• Experimental Inquiries, part iii. Edited by Magnus Falkoner.

London, 1777, pp. 122. 112. 135.

ORGANISED FLUIDS.

Mr. Lane thinks that the division of the capillaries, which necessarily takes place in the opening of the duct, allows of the admission into its contents of the blood discs, which arc there found. Such are the several ways in which it has been suggested that the blood corpuscles find entrance into the thoracic duct.

Mr. Gulliver has noticed that the blood corpuscles contained in the chyle are usually much smaller than those taken from the heart of the same animal, and also, that not more than one fourth of the entire number present their ordinary disc-like figure, the remainder being irregularly indented on the edges, or granulated. The first of these observations, viz. that which refers to the smaller size of the blood corpuscles found in the chyle, might be explained by supposing that those corpuscles were in progress of formation, and that they had not as yet attained their full development ; the other remark, as to the deformed and granulated character of the corpuscles, might be reconciled with the former explanation, by supposing that some time had elapsed between the death of the animal and the examination of the fluid of the thoracic duct. If this manner of accounting for the condition presented by the blood corpuscles of the chyle should be proved to be insufficient, which I myself scarcely think it will, then the only other mode of explaining their appearances is by supposing that their presence in the chyle is really foreign, and that, soon after their entrance into that fluid, the blood corpuscles begin to pass through those changes, indicative of commencing decomposition, of which they are so readily susceptible.

Leaving, however, for the present the question of the origin of the red corpuscles of the blood, which will have to be more fully discussed hereafter, we will in the next place bestow a few reflections upon the origin of the white corpuscles : into this subject, however, it is not intended to enter at any length at present, but merely to make such observations as seem more appropriately to find their place in the chapter on the Chyle and Lymph.

It has been noticed that the white corpuscles occur in very great numbers in the chyle obtained from the mesenteric and lymphatic glands : this observation has led to the supposition that the white corpuscles are formed in those glands.

Upon this question, as upon so many others. Comparative Anatomy throws much light. It has been ascertained that the glands referred to have no existence in the amphibia and in fishes ; in birds, too, they are only found in the neck. Thus it is evident, that the lymphatic glands, however much they may contribute to the formation of the white corpuscles, are not essential to their production.

Corpuscles, very analogous to those of the chyle and the lymph, are found in vast quantities in the fluid of the thymus gland in early life : these corpuscles Hewson considered to be identical with the globules of those fluids, and therefore he regarded the thymus gland as an organ of nutrition, and as an appendage to the lymphatic system. In this opinion he has been followed by Mr. Gulliver. That it is an organ of nutrition, adapted to the special exigencies of early life, there can be no doubt ; but that it is an appendage of the lymphatic system, and that the globules with which it so abounds are the same as those of the lymph and chyle, admits of much diversity of opinion.

The globules of the thymus have undoubtedly striking points of resemblance with the corpuscles so frequently alluded to ; they have the same granular structure ; they are, like them, colourless, and to some extent they comport themselves similarly under the influence of certain re-agents.

There are points, however, of dissimilarity as well as of resemblance ; thus they are usually very much smaller than the lymph corpuscles, they do not undergo any increase of size when immersed in water, and acetic acid does not disclose the presence of nuclei.

But above all, the corpuscles of the thymus differ from those of the lymph and chyle in their situation : those of the latter fluids are always inclosed in vessels in lymphatics, or lacteal lymphatics ; while those of the former fluid, that of the thymus gland, are extravascular, lying loosely in the meshes of the cellular tissue which forms the foundation of the substance of the gland itself.

Now it is impossible to conceive that solid organisms of such a size as the corpuscles of the thymus can enter the lymphatics bodily: — if they are received into the circulation at all, they must first undergo a disintegration and dissolution of their structure.

Both Mr. Gulliver and Mr. Simon * regard the corpuscles of the thymus as cytoblasts ; the former, however, believes that before their development as cytoblasts they enter the circulation, while the other conceives that they are developed in the gland itself into true nucleated cells.

It is difficult to suppose with Mr. Simon, that the small and uniform granular corpuscles of the thymus arc developed into the large, complex, and curiously constituted true secreting cells of that gland.

Whether this be the case or not, however, it would appear that Mr. Simon has fallen into a certain amount of error in his account of the structure of the thymus gland, and also of other analogous glands, as well as iu the generalisations deduced by him therefrom.

Thus Mr. Simon states, that in early life there exists in the thymus gland “ no trace whatever of complete cells ; ” that it is only in later life that nucleated cells are formed, and that these are developed out of the granular corpuscles already referred to, and which are alone present in the gland in the first years of its existence. The same statements are applied to the thyroid body.

But Mr. Simon does not rest here : he regards the long persistence of the corpuscles, which he states are to be found in all those glands which secrete into closed cavities, in the condition of cytoblasts, as constituting a remarkable and important distinction between the glands in question and the true secreting glands which are furnished with excretory ducts.

These observations are to a considerable extent erroneous, as is proved by the fact that true nucleated cells are to be met

• Prize Essay on the Thymus Gland. London, 4to, 1 846.

THE LYMPH AND THE CHYLE,

11

io i th abundantly in the thymus gland of still-born children, and also in the thyroid body and supra-renal capsule ; in the last, indeed, almost every cell is nucleated.

On this supposed essential structural distinction between the true glands which are furnished with excretory ducts, and those anomalous ones which are destitute of such ducts, Mr. Simon founds some general deductions.

It is known that the functions performed by the glands without ducts are of a periodic and temporary character, while those discharged by the true glands are of a permanent and constant nature.

It is also considered by some physiologists that the nucleus of every nucleated cell is the only true and necessary secretin" structure.

O

These views of the nature of the functions performed by the anomalous glands, and of the importance of the nucleus, being adopted by Mr. Simon, he thence draws the inference that the cytoblastic condition of the cells of the thyroid, thymus, and other analogous glands, is precisely that which is required by organs which are called only into action periodically, and in which great activity prevails at certain periods.

This theory is ingenious, but it has been seen that the main fact upon which it rests is for the most part erroneous, and the basis of the theory being removed, the theory itself must fall.

In order that it may be seen that the opinions entertained by Mr. Simon, in his Essay on the Thymus, have not been overstated, I will introduce a few passages therefrom : —

“ Thus while the completion of cells, within the cavities of the thyroid gland, is assuredly a departure from the habitual state of that organ, and probably the evidence of protracted activity therein ; it is yet just such a direction as may serve even better than uniformity to illustrate the meaning of the structures which present it; for it shows, beyond dispute, that the dotted corpuscles are homologous with the cytoblasts of true glands.” (p. 79.)

“In the thymus one would at first believe a similar low

12

ORGANISED FLUIDS.

stage of cell development to be universal ; for in examining the contents of the gland in early life, one finds no trace whatever of complete cells. The dotted corpuscles are undoubtedly quite similar to those which we have recognised as becoming the nuclei of cells in the thyroid body, and in other organs ; there is abundant room for conjecturing them to be of a correspondent function — to be, in fact, true cytoblasts ; but the arguments for this point cannot be considered quite conclusive, without some additional evidence.” (

“ The completion of a cell, from the isolation of so much of the secreted product as is collected round each cytoblast, is a very frequent secondary process. In the true glands it is very frequent, in those without ducts exceptional (p. 84.)

With one other remark on the corpuscles of the thymus, we will conclude this short chapter : mixed up with those corpuscles are frequently to be noticed many nucleated globules, in every way similar to the white corpuscles of the blood, but very distinct from the true cell corpuscles of the gland ; the nucleus of these white globules is of nearly the same size as the dotted corpuscles themselves. Is there any relation between this coincidence in size ?

We now pass to the consideration of the most important fluid in the animal economy, viz. the blood. *

• Plate VIII. will contain figures illustrative of the chyle.

THE BEOOD.

13

Art. II. THE BLOOD.

Of all the flunk in the animal economy, the most interestins anti the most important is the Blood : and it is an appreciation of this fact which has led to the concentration upon its study, in times past as well as present, of the powers of a host of able and gifted observers, whose labours have not been without their reward.

The knowledge of this fluid acquired by the early physician was of a very limited character, it being confined to the observance of a certain number of external and obvious appearances, such as the colour, consistence, and form of the effused blood. Limited as this knowledge was, however, compared with that which, in our favoured day, we enjoy, it was yet not without its practical utility.

More recently the chemist, who is in these times extending in all directions so rapidly the boundaries of his domain, has cast upon this particular portion of it a flood of light. Who, to look upon a dark and discoloured mass of blood, could imagine that the magic power of chemistry could reveal in it the existence of not less than forty distinct and essential substances?

Lastly, the micrographer, with zeal unweariable, has even outstripped the progress of his rival the chemist, and brought to light results of the highest importance. It is these results that in this work we have more especially to consider.

In the following pages we shall have to treat of the blood under various aspects and conditions ; we shall have to regard it alive and dead, circulating within its vessels, and motionless without them ; as a fluid and as a solid ; healthy and diseased ; or, in other words, we shall have to consider the blood physiologically, pathologically, and anatomically.

DEFINITION.

The blood may be defined as an elaborated fluid, having usually a specific gravity of about 1'055, that is, heavier than

14

OltGANISED FLUIDS.

water ; in mammalia and most vertebrate animals, being of a |i red colour, but colourless in the invertebrata * : circulating in

• 7 O * (

distinct sets of vessels, arteries, and veins ; holding in solution, all the elements of the animal fabric — fibrin, albumen, i and serum, together with various salts and bases, and in l suspension, myriads of solid particles termed globules, f

The blood would thus appear to be the grand supporter and regenerator of the system ; in early life, supplying the ; materials necessary for the development of the frame, and, in adult existence, furnishing those required for its maintenance : hence “ the blood ” has been figuratively called “ the life.”

COAGULATION OF THE BLOOD, WITHOUT THE BODY.

The first change which the blood undergoes subsequent to its removal from the body consists in its coagulation. This phenomenon has been denominated emphatically “ the death of the blood,” because, when it has once occurred, the blood is thereby rendered unfit to maintain the vital functions, and there is no known power which can restore to it that faculty.

Although the word coagulation is usually applied generally to the blood, yet it is not to be understood that the whole of the mass of that fluid undergoes the change of condition implied by the term coagulation, which affects but a single element of the blood, — viz. the fibrin.

The precise circumstances to which the coagulation of the

• Muller states that the quantity of blood in the system varies from eight

to thirty pounds, and Valentin found that the mean quantity of blood in the male adult, at the time when the weight of the body is greatest, viz. at thirty years, is about thirty -four and a half pounds, and in the adult female, at fifty years, when the weight of the body in that sex is at its maximum, about twenty-six pounds. According also to Muller, the specific gravity of the blood varies from F527 to 1057 ; arterial blood is lighter than venous.

f In one vertebrate animal, a fish, Branchiostoma liibricum Costa, the blood is colourless, and in the most of Annelida: it is red ; the red colour, however, exists in the liquor sanguinis., and not in the blood corpuscles.

THE BLOOD.

15

blood is due, lmvc never as yet been satisfactorily explained and determined. Some have conceived that it resulted from the escape of a vital air or essence. Much has been said and written upon this “ vital principle,” and, it seems to me, with very little profit. It would be more philosophical, I think, to regard animal life not as an essence, or ether, but as the complex operation of nicely adjusted scientific adaptations and principles. According to this view, the human frame in health would be comparable (and yet, withal, how incomparable is it !) to a finely-balanced machine, in which action and reaction are proportionate, and in disease disproportionate, the injury to the machine being equivalent to the disproportion between the two forces. *

The coagulation of the blood, in some degree, doubtless depends upon the operation of the following causes, each contributing in a greater or lesser degree to the result ; namely, the cessation of nervous influence, the abstraction of caloric, the exercise of chemical affinity between the particles of fibrin, and, lastly, a state of rest: between motion and. life a very close connexion appears to exist, f

Formation of the Clot.

A portion of blood having been abstracted from the system, and allowed to remain for a few minutes in a state of quiescence, in a basin or other suitable vessel, soon manifests a change of condition. This consists in the separation of the fibrin and globules of the blood, which go to form the clot, from the serum, which holds in solution the various salts of the blood. In this way a rude and natural analysis is brought about; the fibrin, being heavier than the scrum, falls to the bottom, and, by reason of its coherence and con It is hoped that the preceding brief remarks will not expose the writer to the charge of being a Materialist ; between animal life and mind an essential distinction exists.

f “ Fresh blood if exposed to a very low temperature freezes, and may in that state be preserved, so as to be still susceptible of coagulation when thawed.” — M cleer.

16

OliGANISED FLUIDS.

tractility, forms a compact mass or clot, the diameter of which is less than that of the vessel in which it is contained ; while the lighter serum floats on the top and in the space around the clot.

Now the only active agent in this change in the arrangement of the different constituents of the blood, is the fibrin ; and although the globules of the blood constitute a portion of the clot, yet they take no direct part in its formation, and their presence in it is thus accounted for ; the fibrin, in coagulating, assumes a filamentous and reticular structure, in the meshes of which the globules become entangled, and thus are made to contribute to the composition of the clot, the bulk of which they increase, and to which they impart the red colour.

It was an ancient theory that the clot was formed solely by the union of the globules with each other. The fallacy of this opinion is easily demonstrated by the two following decisive experiments : —

The first is that of Muller, on the blood of the frog, who separated, by means of a filter, the globules from the fibrin, the latter still forming a clot, although deprived of the globules. This experiment is not, however, applicable to the blood of man, or of mammalia in general, the globules in these being too small to be retained by the filter. The second expedient is, however, perfectly suited to the human blood. It is well known that if blood, immediately after its removal from the body, be stirred with a stick, the fibrin will adhere to it in the form of shreds : the blood being defibrinated by this means, the globules fall to the bottom of the basin in which the blood is contained, on account of their gravity ; but they do not cohere so as to form a clot, remaining disconnected and loose.

It is difficult to determine the exact time which the blood takes to coagulate, because this coagulation is not the work of a moment ; but, from its commencement to its completion, the process occupies usually several minutes. The first evidence of the formation of the clot, is the appearance of a thin and greenish scrum on the surface of the blood, in which may be

THE BLOOD.

17

seen numerous delicate fibres, the arrangement of which may be compared to that of the needle-like crystals contained in the solution of a salt in which crystallisation has commenced. Estimating, however, the coagulation neither from its commencement nor from the complete formation and consolidation of the clot, but from the mean time between these two points, it will generally be found that healthy blood coagulates in from fifteen to twenty minutes.

In diseased states of the system, however, the time occupied in the coagulation of the blood, or, in other words, in the formation of the crassamentum, or clot, varies very considerably ; and it is of much practical importance that the principle which regulates this diversity should be clearly understood.

In disorders of an acute, active, or sthenic character, in which the vital energies may be regarded as in excess, as, for instance, in inflammatory affections, in pneumonia, pleurisy, acute rheumatism, and sanguineous apoplexy : in febrile states of the system, as in the commencement of some fevers, as in ague, plethora, and as in utero-gestation, the blood takes a much longer time than ordinary to coagulate, no traces of this change in the passage of the blood from a fluid to a solid state being apparent until from sixteen to twenty minutes have elapsed. This length of time may be accounted for, by supposing that, in the affections named, the blood is endowed with a higher degree of vitality, and that therefore a longer period is required for its death to ensue ; or, in other words, if the expression may be allowed, that the blood in such cases dies hard. On the contrary, in disorders of a chronic, passive, or asthenic character, in all of which there is deficiency of the vital powers, as in typhus, anemia, chlorosis, the blood passes to a solid state in a much shorter period than ordinary, even in from five to ten minutes. In these cases the vitality of the blood is very feeble, and it may be said to die easily. A remarkable difference is likewise observable in the characters of the clot formed in the two classes of disorders named; in the first it is firm, and

C

18

ORGANISED FLUIDS.

well defined; in the second, soft, and diffluent.* To this subject we shall have occasion again to refer, more at length.

Fibrin, if left at rest for a time, undergoes a softening process, and breaks up into an extremely minute granular substance. This softening of the fibrin has been improperly confounded with suppuration ; the softened mass, however, may be distinguished from true pus by the almost complete absence of pus globules. This peculiar change in the condition of the fibrin has been noticed to occur both in blood contained within and without the body, and large softened clots of it are not unfrequeutly encountered in the heart after death. The process always commences in the centre of these clots.

Formation of the Buffi/ Coat of the Blood.

Surmounting the coloured portion of the clot is observed, in blood taken from the system in inflammatory states, a yellowish green stratum : this constitutes the huffy or inflammatory crust, the presence of which was deemed of so much importance by the ancient physician, and which is indeed not without its pathological value. This crust consists of fibrin deprived of the red globules of the blood ; and its mode of formation is thus easily and satisfactorily explained. Of the constituents of the blood, the red globules are the heaviest : now, supposing that no solidification x>f any one element were to take place, these, of course, would always be found occupying the lowest position in the containing vessel ; the fibrin would take the second rank, and the serum the third : but such, under ordinary circumstances, not being the case, and the fibrin coagulating so speedily, the globules become entangled in its meshes before they have had sufficient time given them to enable them to obey fully the impulse derived from their greater specific gravity ; and thus no crust is formed. In blood drawn in inflammations,

• It is to be remarked, that the clot is not of equal density throughout,

but that its lower portion is invariably softer than the upper, and this is accounted for by the fact of its containing less fibrin.

THE BLOOD.

19

however, this coagulation, as already stated, proceeds much more slowly; and thus time is allowed to the globules to follow this impulse of the law of gravity to such an extent, as that they fall a certain distance, about the sixteenth of an inch, usually, below the surface of the fibrin before its complete coagulation averts their further progress ; and a portion of which is thus left colourless, which constitutes the buffy and so called inflammatory crust of the blood. But there are other considerations to which it is necessary to attend, and which contribute to the formation of the buffy coat.

One of these is the greater relative amount of fibrin which inflammatory blood contains.

A second is the increased disposition, first pointed out by Professor Xasse, which the red corpuscles have in inflammatory blood to adhere together and to form rolls, and the consequence of which is that they occupy less space in the clot.

A third additional consideration, to which it is necessary to attend, in reference to the formation of the inflammatory crust, is the density of the blood, which bears no exact relation to the amount of fibrin, but depends rather upon the quantity of albumen which it contains. * The greater the density of the blood, the longer would the globules take to subside in that fluid; and the less its density, the shorter would that period be. Now inflammatory blood is usually of high density, while with that of feeble vitality, the reverse obtains. Thus were it not for the fact, that in blood in the first state, coagulation is slow, and in the second quick, the blood of weak vital power would be that in which, a priori, we should expect to see the buffy coat most frequently formed ; but the much greater rapidity in the coagulation of the blood more than counterbalances the effect of density.

I he blood, then, may be so dense, that although at the same time it coagulates very slowly, yet no inflammatory cru-t be formed, the patient from whom the blood is extracted

• It has been remarked, that in albuminuria, in which a considerable

portion of the albumen of the system passes off with the urine, the blood possesses a very feeble density.

20

OltGANISED FLUIDS.

labouring all the while under severe inflammation. An ignorance of this fact has been the source of many great and perhaps fatal errors, on the part of those physicians who have been used to regard the pi'esence of the buffy coat as an undoubted evidence of the existence of inflammation, and its absence as indicating immunity therefrom. It has been remarked that, in the first bleedings of pneumonic patients, the blood often wants the buffy coat : this is attributed to its greater density, and which is found to diminish with each succeeding abstraction of blood ; so that if inflammation be present, the characteristic coat is usually apparent also after the second bleeding.

The., conditions, then, favourable to the formation of the buffy coat, are a mean density of the blood, slow coagulation : excess of fibrin, and increased disposition to adherence on the part of the red corpuscles.

Other circumstances doubtless exist, which in a minor degree affect the formation of the crust : such as the density of the globules, and the cjualities of the fibrin itself. Into these it is unnecessary to enter, as they do not vitiate the accuracy of the general statements.

The Cupping of the Clot.

At the same time that the crassamentum exhibits the buffy coat, the upper surface of the clot is very generally also cupped. This cupping of the clot arises from the contraction of that portion of the fibrin which constitutes the buffy stratum, and which contraction operates with greater force on account of the absence in it of the red corpuscles of the blood. The degree to which the clot is cupped, therefore, probably is in direct relation with the thickness of the crust. Its presence was also regarded as an indication of the existence of inflammation, the amount of cupping denoting the extent of inflammation. This sign is not, howevei’, any more than that afforded by the buffy coat, to be considered as an invariable criterion of the existence of inflammation.*

• Professor Nasse has pointed out a mottled appearance which is

THE BLOOD.

21

COAGULATION OF THE BLOOD, IN THE VESSELS, AFTER

DEATH.

The coagulation, or death, which we have described as occurring in blood abstracted from the system by venesection, takes place likewise, — the vital influence which maintains the circulation being removed, — in that which is still contained within the vessels of the body, although in a manner less marked and appreciable.

As also in the case of the blood withdrawn from the system, tbe time occupied in the coagulation of that which is still enclosed in its own proper vessels, varies very considerably. This difference depends partly upon the circumstances under which the patient has died, whether he has been exhausted or not by a previous long and wasting illness, and partly upon temperature and, perhaps, certain electric states of the atmosphere. In all instances, however, a much longer period is required for the production of coagulation in blood not removed from the body, than in that which has been withdrawn by bleeding ; this change in its condition being seldom effected, in the former instance, in a shorter period than from twelve to twenty-four hours subsequent to decease ; although occasionally, but rarely, it may occur at periods either earlier or later than those named.

Signs of Death. — It has already been stated, that blood once coagulated is rendered unfit for the purposes of life, and that no known means exist capable of restoring to coagulated blood its fluid state, so as to render it once again

frequently observed to precede the formation of the bully coat, and the existence of which he states to be quite characteristic of inflammatory blood. This appearance is produced in the following manner : after the lapse of a minute or two a peculiar heaving motion of the threads or rolls formed by the union of the red corpuscles with each other is observed to take place ; this results in the breaking up of the rolls, (he corpuscles of which now collect into masses, leaving, however, intervals between them, and which become filled with fibrin ; now it is the contrast in colour between this fibrin and the masses of red corpuscles which occasions tbe blood in coagulating to assume the mottled aspect referred to.

22

ORGANISED FLUIDS.

suited to play its part in the maintenance of the vital functions. The accuracy of these statements is attested by physiology, which demonstrates to us that a fluid condition is necessary to the blood, for the correct performance of its allotted functions. It follows, then, from the foregoing, that a coagulated state of the blood, not in a single vessel indeed, but in the vessels of the system generally, affords a certain indication that death has occurred, and that therefore a return to life has become impossible.

It has ever been an object of the highest importance to distinguish real from apparent death ; and anxious searches have been instituted in the hope of discovering some certain sign whereby the occurrence of death is at once signalised. Hitherto this inquiry has been unsuccessful ; and it could hardly have been otherwise ; for before the physiologist will be able to determine the precise moment when life ceases, and death begins, he must know in what the life consists, for death is but the negation of life. It is probable that the mystery of life will never be revealed to man ; if, indeed, it be any thing more than, as already hinted, the result of the combined operation of various chemical and physical laws appertaining to matter.

Although no one single sign has hitherto been discovered indicative of death at the moment of its occurrence, yet several appearances have been remarked some time after death, all of which are of more or less value in determining so important a point. Independently of the cessation of respiration and circulation, the pi’esence of muscular rigidity, some other changes have been noticed to occur in different parts of the human body soon after the extinction of life ; as, for instance, in the eye, and in the skin : these are mostly, however, symptomatic of incipient decomposition, and the time of their accession is very uncertain : they likewise affect parts, the integrity of which is not essential to life. A fluid state of the blood, on the contrary, has been shown to be indispensable to life ; so that the change which it undergoes in the vessels of the body so quickly after death, may be employed with much advantage and certainty in de

THE BLOOD.

23

termining, in doubtful cases, whether life lias become extinct or not.

It is by no means difficult to establish the fact of the coagulation of the blood in the vessels after death. If a vein be opened, as in the ordinary operation of bleeding, in a person who has just died, the blood will issue in a fluid state, as in life : but it will not leap forth in a stream. If a little of the blood, thus procured, be preserved in a small glass, we shall soon remark the occurrence of coagulation in it, from which we shall know that the fibrin within the vessels has not as yet assumed a solid form. If we repeat this operation at the end of about eighteen hours, we shall obtain only a small quantity of reddish serum, in which, on being set aside for a time, no ci’assamentum will be found, the only change occurring in this serum consisting in the subsidence of the few red globules which were previously suspended in it, and which now form, at the bottom of the glass, a loose and powdery mass. By this experiment, which may be repeated on several veins, and even on an artery, we have clearly established the fact of the coagulation of the blood within the vessels of the body, and therefore have ascertained, in a manner the most satisfactory, that life is^extinct.

In some instances, the blood is said to remain fluid after death : this statement is not strictly correct, as a careful examination of such blood will always lead to the detection of some traces of coagulation. To the subject of the fluid condition of the blood after death, we shall have hereafter to return, in treating of the pathology of the blood.

When it is recollected that the heat of some climates, and the laws and usages of other countries, compel the interment of the dead a very few hours after decease, the importance of this inquiry will become apparent ; and the value of any sign which more certainly indicates death than those usually relied upon in determining this question, will be more fully appreciated.

It cannot be doubted but that, from the insufficient nature of the signs of death usually regarded as decisive, premature interment does occasionally take place; and it is probable that this occurrence is far less unfrequent than is generally supposed, and that for each discovered case, a hundred occur in which the fatal mistake is never brought to light, it being buried with the victim of either ignorance or carelessness.*

We have now to proceed to the anatomical consideration i of the blood : we have to pass to the description of the solid t; constituents of that fluid, the globules; to describe their i different kinds, their form, their dimensions and their structure ; their origin, their development, and their destination their properties, and their uses.

THE GLOBULES OF THE BLOOD.

The blood is not an homogeneous fluid, but holds in sus- ' pension throughout its substance a number of solid particles, < termed globules. These serve to indicate to the eye the motion of the blood ; and were it not for their presence, we should be unable to establish, microscopically, the fact of the existence of a circulation, to mark its coui’se, and to estimate the relative speed of the current in arteries and veins under different circumstances.

These globules are so abundant in the blood, that a single drop contains very many thousands of them, and yet they are not so minute but that their form, size, and structure, with good microscopes, can be clearly ascertained and defined. They are not all of one kind, but three different descriptions have been detected — the red globules, the white, and certain smaller particles, termed molecules. We shall take each of them in order; and notice, in the first place, the red globules, f

• The coagulation of the blood may be retarded or altogether prevented

by its admixture with various saline matters : to this point we shall have occasion to refer more fully hereafter.

j Malpighi first signalised the existence of the red globules in the blood, so far back as 1665 : he regarded them as of an oily nature. The words in which this discovery was recorded were as follow : — “ Sanguineum nempe vas in omento hystricis ... in quo globuli pinguedinis propria figura terminati rubescentes et eorallorum rubrorum vulgo coronam

THE BLOOD.

25

THE RED GLOBULES.

The number of red globules existing in the blood surpasses by many times that of the white. To the sight, when seen circulating in this fluid, they appear to constitute almost the entire of its bulk. We shall now have to consider their form, the size, the structure, and the properties by which they are characterised.

Form. — In man, and in most mammalia, the red blood corpuscles are of a circular but flattened form, with rounded edges, and a central depression on each surface, the depth of which varies according to the amount of the contents of each globule.* Such is the normal form of the blood discs, or the shape proper to them while circulating in the blood of an adult. (See Plate I. Jig. 1.) In that of the embryo, the depression is wanting, and the globules are simply lenticular.f

The blood globules, however, like all minute vesicles, possess the properties of endosmosis and exosmosis. These principles depend for their operation upon the different relative density of two fluids, the one external to the vesicle, the other internal. When these two fluids - are of equal density, then no change in the normal form of the vesicles occurs : when, however, the internal fluid is of greater density than the external, then an alteration of shape does take place ; endosmosis ensues, in which phenomenon a portion of the liquid without the vesicle passes through its investing membrane, and thus distends and modifies its form. Lastly, when a reverse disposition of the fluids exists, a contrary effect becomes manifested ; exosmosis is the result ; which implies the escape of a portion of the contents of the vesicle into the medium which surrounds and envelopes it. The operation of these principles are beautifully seen, not merely in the blood globules, but more especially in those exquisitely delicate formations, the pollen granules.

aemulantes . . .” — De Omento et adiposis Ductibus. Opera omnia. Lond. 1686.

Leeuwenhoek was, however, the first observer who distinctly described the blood globules in the different classes of animals: this he did in 1673. These historical reminiscences are not without their interest, and further references of this kind will be introduced in the course of the work.

• The central depression was first noticed by Dr. Young. The

flattened form with the central depression on each surface, and of which a bi-concave lens would form an apt illustration, is that which any vesicle partially emptied of its contents would assume.

f Ilewson figured the difference in the form of the blood globule in the embryo, and in the adult, in the common domestic fowl, and in the viper.

Between the density of the liquid contained within the red globules, and that of the liquor sanguinis, in states of health, a nice adaptation or harmony exists, whereby these globules are enabled to retain their peculiar form. There is, however, scarcely any other fluid which can be applied to the globules which does not, more or less, affect their shape, most of the reagents employed in their examination rendering them spherical. (See Plate I. Jig. 3.)

From the preceding observations, therefore, it follows that the red globules, to be seen in their normal condition, should be examined while still floating in the serum : they are best obtained by pricking the finger with a needle or lancet.

Usually, when the microscope is brought to bear upon the object-glass, the globules are seen to be scattered irregularly over its surface, the majority of them presenting their entire disc to view, others lying obliquely, so as to render apparent the central depression, and others again exhibiting their thin edges. (See Plate I. Jig. 1.) Not unfrequently, however, a number of corpuscles unite together by their flat surfaces, so as to form little threads, comparable to strings of beads, or of coins, which are more or less curved, and in which the lines of junction between the corpuscles are plainly visible. These strings of compressed globules bear also a close resemblance to an Oscillatoria, and a still closer likeness to the plant described in the history of the British Freshwater Algie, under the name of Hcematococcus Hooheriana. (See Plate I. Jig. 4.) The cause which determines this union of the cells still requires to be explained, and would seem to be referable to a mutual attraction exerted by the globules on each other. Andral asserts that when

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the fibrin of the blood is abstracted, they do not thus cohere. Professor iNasse, as already remarked, states that this disposition on the part of the red corpuscles to unite together and form rolls (as of miniature money in appearance), is increased in inflammatory blood. The union does not, however, last long ; a heaving to and fro of the strings of corpuscles soon taking place, and which terminates in their disruption.*

Size . — The size of the red corpuscles of the blood, although more uniform than that of the white, is nevertheless subject to considerable variation. Thus, the globules contained in a single drop of blood are not all of the same dimensions, but vary much. These variations are, however, confined within certain limits : the usual measurement in the human -subject is estimated at about the 5 of an inch ; but, occasionally, globules are met with not exceeding the ; and, again, others are encountered of the magnitude of the .3279 of an inch : these are, however, the extreme sizes which present themselves.f The difference in the size of the

• In reptiles, birds, and fishes, the red globules are elliptical, a form

possessed also by some few mammalia, chiefly of the family Cam duke. This fact was first discovered by Mandl, in the dromedary and paco ; and -subsequently by Gulliver, in the vicugna and llama. The oval globules of these animals, however, could not be confounded with those of reptiles, birds, and fishes, than the corpuscles of which they are so much smaller, .and, further, are destitute of the central nucleus, which characterises the blood globules of all the vertebrata, the mammalia alone excepted. The long diameter of the blood corpuscles of the dromedary, Mr. Gulliver states to be the of an inch, and its short the ; the first of these measurements exceeds but little the diameter of the human blood corpuscles.

Amongst fishes one exception to the usual oval form of the blood corpuscle has been met with: this occurs in the lamprey, the blood disc of which Professor Rudolph Wagner observed to be circular ; in form then the blood corpuscle of the lamprey agrees with that of the mammalia, but in the presence of a nucleus, the existence of which has been recently ascertained by Mr. T. W. Jones, it corresponds with the structure of the blood discs of other fishes.

f The first measurement given is that which is usually adopted by ■writers ; the last two are those made by Mr. Bowerbank for Mr. Owen, and which are to be found in the latter gentleman’s paper on the Comparative Anatomy of the Blood Discs, inserted in die Bond. Med. Gazette

red corpuscles, which has been indicated, is a character common to them in the blood of all persons, and at every age. Another variation as to size exists, which is, that the corpuscles are larger in the embryonic and foetal than they are in adult existence.* This observation is important, inasmuch as it seems to prove that the blood does not pass directly from the maternal system into the foetal circulation, but that the corpuscles are formed independently in the foetus. In states of disease, also, it has been remarked by Mr. Gulliver that, there is even a still greater want of uniformity in the measurements presented by the red corpuscles.

A careful examination of the elaborate tables of Mr. Gulliver on the measurements of the blood corpuscles, appended to the translation of Gerber’s Minute Anatomy, tends to show that a general, though not a very close or uniform relation, exists between the size of the blood corpuscles amongst the mammalia, and that of the animal from which they proceed. These tables furnish more evidence in favour of this co-relation than they do in support of the assertion that has been made, that the dimensions of the corpuscle depend upon the nature of the food. It would appear, however, nevertheless, that the corpuscles of omnivora are usually larger than those of carnivora, and these, again, larger than those of hcrbivora.\' In a perfectly natural family

for 1839. The measurements which I have made of the human blood corpuscle do not accord with those which are generally regarded as correct : thus I find the average diameter of the blood globule of man to be, when examined in the serum of the blood, about the „ H * 0 u of an inch, and in water in which the corpuscles are smaller, as a necessary consequence of the change of form, the The micrometer employed by

me is a glass one, precisely similar to that made use of by Mr. Gulliver, being furnished to me by the same eminent optician, Mr. Ross, from whom his own was obtained.

• This is the opinion of Hewson, Prevost, and Gulliver, and I have

myself to some extent confirmed its accuracy.

j The largest globules which have as yet been discovered, are those of the elephant; the next in size, those of the capybara and rhinoceros ; the ir smallest, according to the observations of Mr. Gulliver, are those of the napu * musk-deer. The corpuscles of the blood of the goat were formerly con

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)f mammalia, as the rodents or the ruminants, there is also in obvious relation between the size of the corpuscle and that i of the animal.

Gerber states that there is an exact relation between the -dze of the blood globules and that of the smallest capillaries. This observation is doubtless strictly correct.

Structure . — Much diversity of opinion has, until recently, prevailed, and does still obtain, although to a less extent, in •eference to the intimate structure of the red globule. This liversity has arisen partly from the imperfections of the earlier microscopic instruments employed in the investigation, ind in part is due to the different circumstances iu which ubservers have examined the blood corpuscle. Thus, one nierographer would make his observations upon it in one luid, and another in some other medium, opposite results . md conclusions not unfrequently being the results of such uncertain proceedings. These discrepancies it will be the -writer’s endeavour, as far as possible, to reconcile with each other, as well as to point out those observations which are ■ entitled to our implicit belief, and those which yet require jonfirmation. This being done, we shall be in a position to I form some certain conclusions. The earlier microscopic ibservers believed, almost without exception, in the existence )f a nucleus in the centre of each blood corpuscle. Into this uelief they were no doubt led more from analogy than

rom actual observation. Now analogy, although frequently ,

useful in the elucidation of obscure points, affords in the uresent instance but negative and uncertain evidence. In he elliptical blood discs of reptiles, birds, and fishes, a solid granular nucleus does undoubtedly exist; but the best optical nstruments, in the hands of the most skilful recent micro idererl to be the smallest. The following are the dimensions given by Mr. iulliver of some of the animals above named. Diameter of corpuscle of he elephant, the of an inch ; of capybara, the T; J T7r ; of goat, the r ;Wi ar) d of napu musk-deer T j TTrs . The white corpuscles of the muskdeer are as large as those of a man; a # proof that the red corpuscles are lot formed, as many suppose, out of the colourless blood globules. (See the figs.)

graphers, aided by the application of a variety of re-agents, have failed, utterly, in detecting the presence of a similar structure in the blood globule of the human subject in particular, and of mammalia in general. I therefore do not hesitate to join my opinion to that of those observers who deny the existence of a nucleus in the blood discs of man and mammalia.*

The appearance of a nucleus is, indeed, occasionally presented ; but this appearance has been wrongly interpreted. An internal small ring, under favourable circumstances, may be seen in the centre of each blood corpuscle : this ring is occasioned by the central depression, the outer margin of which it describes ; and it was the observance of it that gave to Della Torre the erroneous impression, that each globule had a central perforation, and therefore was of an annular form ; and further, probably induced Dr. Martin Barry to describe it as a fibre.

The very existence, on both surfaces of the blood disc, of a deep central depression, together with its little thickness, almost preclude the possibility of the presence of a nucleus.

An endeavour to account for the absence of a nucleus in the blood corpuscle of the human adult has been made by supposing that it does really exist in the blood of the embryo. The answer to this supposition is, that no nucleus is to be found in embryonic blood, and that if it Avere, it would be no

1. reason Avhy the nucleus should not also be met Avith in the

blood of the adult, seeing that the blood disc is not a permanent structure, as an eye or a limb, but one Avhich is perpetually subject to destruction and reneAval.

Having- then arrived at the conclusion that no nucleus exists in the blood corpuscle of man, we have hoav to ask ourselves the question, Avhat, then, is really the constitution of the red blood globule ?

• Amongst those avIio have asserted their belief in the presence of a

nucleus, may be mentioned Ilewson, Muller, Gerber, Mandl, Barry, Wagner, Rees, Lane, and Addison; and of those who have held a contrary opinion, Majendie, Hodgkin, Liston, Young, Quekett, Gulliver, Lambotte, Owen, and Donne.

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Some observers have compared it to a vesicle. This definition does not seem to be altogether satisfactory; for although each corpuscle possesses the endosmotic properties common to a vesicle, no membrane, apart from the general substance of the globule, (I speak more particularly of the human blood disc,) has been demonstrated as belonging to it.

Each globule in man may therefore be defined to be an organism of a definite form and homogeneous structure, composed chiefly of the proteine compound globuline, which resembles albumen very closely in its properties; its substance externally being more dense than internally, it being endowed with great plastic properties, and, finally, being the -seat of the colouring matter of the blood.

The extent to which the red globule is capable of altering its form, is truly remarkable. If it be observed during circulation, it will be seen to undergo an endless variety of shapes, by which it accommodates itself to the space through which it has to traverse, and to the pressure of the ■surrounding globules. The form thus impressed upon it is not however permanent, for as soon as the pressure is removed, it again instantaneously resumes its normal proportions. On the field of the microscope, however, the corpuscles may be so far put out of form, as to be incapable of restoration to their original shape.

Some observers have assigned to the red globule a compound cellular structure, comparing it to a mulberry. It need scarcely be said that such a structure does not really belong to it. A puckered or irregular outline is not uufrequently presented by many globules: this is due sometimes to evaporation, and then arises from the presence around the margin of the disc, and occasionally over the whole surface, of minute bubbles of air*; and at other times it is the result of commencing decomposition, or the application of some special re-agent, as a solution of salt, in which cases a true change in the form, but not in the structure of the globule, does

• This vesiculated appearance of the blood corpuscles may be produced

at once by pressure.

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