Note 16 — II. ON THE PLACES OF ORIGIN OF THE WHITE BLOOD CORPUSCLES.

A. Fränkel has recently reported histological investigations in which he could demonstrate in one case true myelocytes in inflamed lymph glands. He says (xv. Congress f. innere Medecin): "For some time past I have had systematic examinations carried out by my assistant, Dr Japha, on the granulations of the leucocytes contained in these glands in a large number of infectious diseases, which are accompanied by acute swelling of the lymphatic glands, such as scarlet fever, diphtheria, typhoid. They were performed in the following way: dry cover-slip preparations were made from the juice of the glands removed shortly after death, and were stained in the usual way by Ehrlich's triacid mixture. Amongst a large number of cases thus examined, it was possible in only one case of scarlet fever—but in this beyond all doubt—to demonstrate the presence of mononuclear cells with neutrophil granulation." The extreme rarity of this condition supports our opinion that the formation of neutrophil mononuclear elements cannot be regarded as a normal function of the lymphatic glands. Polynuclear neutrophil cells are nearly always naturally present in inflamed lymph glands, as a product of the inflammation which has immigrated there. Every pus preparation shews that the polynuclear neutrophil leucocytes can change in the tissues to mononuclear, and the isolated observations of Japha should be explained in this manner.