The origin and development of the umbilical cord, and its relation to the amnion / by James Foulis, M.D.

  • Foulis, James.
Date:
[1900]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The origin and development of the umbilical cord, and its relation to the amnion / by James Foulis, M.D. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    from its earliest condition ; and it is only by a careful study of the development of embryos, both human and animal, that one can get at the truth regarding this interesting question of the relation of the amnion to the umbilical cord. Unfortunately it is very difficult to obtain human embryos ; but such a study in embryology can be well carried out with the aid of embryos of deer, sheep, and pigs, which may be secured in all stages of development. The results obtained from the study of these particular embryos do not differ in any essential point from the results described by His and Minot in their work with human embryos. My own work has been entirely carried out in connection with the embryos of deer and sheep and pigs, of which I secured a large number. The first embryo examined by myself was one taken from the uterus of a large red deer. It reached me from the country on the 28th November 1899. As soon as it was removed from the uterus it was placed in a weak solution of bichloride of mercury. As to the age of this embryo it was difficult to speak accurately ; but the gamekeeper who sent it to me on my asking him as to its age, wrote as follows : The chief'rut' takes place here between the 25 th October and sth November ; but always a few does come earher and a few later. The seasons do not differ much, not more than three or four days between an early and a late season. The does go with young eight months. The embryo measured just six mm. in length, not more, as it lay on its back in a weak solu- tion of bichloride of mercury. It was placed under a specially prepared microscope and then drawn by a skilled artist It is represented in Fig. i Plate i. just as it appeared under the microscope—and every care was taken to represent all parts accurately as regards size and relation to each other The letters A and B point to its head, on which the cerebral vesicles were well marked. The head itself was enclosed in a globular amnion bag, O O, through which the head could be clearly seen. Immediately below the head and touching it, and extending away almost at right angles was the large collapsed yolk sac E, on whose surface numerous blood vessels could be seen. _ The yolk sac E was seen to be attached to the primitive intestine by a narrow tube-like structure C, which was scarcely