ELASTIC TISSUE UNDER NORMAL AND PATHOLOGIC CONDITIONS.

Weigert's recent specific stain for elastic fibers has rendered simple and easy the study of this constituent of various organs. Melnikow Raswedenkow¹ has made extended investigations of the elastic tissue under both normal and abnormal conditions. In normal organs the blood-vessels are most richly and constantly endowed with elastic elements which appear in early embryonal life, and on account of their elasticity and resistance they efficiently support the contractile tissue and aid it to carry out its mechanical functions. The lungs, which are constantly in motion are very rich in elastic fibers, as is also the spleen, which has the power to change its volume; the same holds true of the diaphragm, the tongue, the large lymph vessels and the intestinal tract. The glandular parts of the liver, the pancreas, etc., organs which remain quiet, are comparatively poor in elastic elements. The amount of elastic tissue increases with age;