228 Morphology alad Physiology of Areas of Langerhares
extent also those of the medium-sized ducts. (6) Between the
fourth and fifteenth days, there are mucous degeneration of cells
of large ducts and thickening of walls. (7) After the thirtieth
day there are atrophy of small ducts, collapse of membrane, and
degeneration of epithelium. (8) New formation of connective
tissue is interlobular, and there is much new elastic tissue around
ducts and islands. (g) The number of blood-vessels diminishes
after twenty days, the number of nerves after from sixty to
seventy days; the number of ganglia and of cells in the remain-
ing ganglia diminish and Vater-Pacinian bodies degenerate and
do not reappear. (Io) If measures were not taken to prevent it,
there was a new formation of excretory ducts through which the
secretion could be carried to the duodenum. Pawlow and Smir-
now and Tiberti also note this regeneration of the duct and
with it of the gland tissue, if the degeneration has not gone too
far. (iI) As to the areas, Ssobolew makes an important state-
ment. While he finds the areas normal in the rabbit four hun-
dred days after the operation, he finds that earlier, between the
thirtieth and one hundred and twentieth day, some of the islands
degenerate and many are reduced in size, but that there are indi-
vidual differences in the power of resistance.
In none of the animals operated upon, did Ssobolew find gly-
cosuria, but he does not state how frequently he examined the
urine or how long after the operation he continued to do so. The
point is of especial importance since Hédon in I894 noted a slight
transient glycosuria from the first to the fourth month after
the pancreatic duct was filled with oil, thus causing atrophy of
the gland. Sauerbeck (I904) calls attention to the same fact
and also to its significance. He states that in rabbits (the same
species on which both Hédon and Ssobolew operated) he noticed
after ligation of the duct a slight glycosuria developing after the
first month and at the same time a distinct alteration of the
islands. This coincidence of facts is extremely suggestive for the
island theory of diabetes.
Zunz (I905) after ligation of the excretory duct of the dog's
pancreas noted the same atrophy of the gland parenchyma with
preservation of the areas as described by Schulze, Ssobolew, and