“Granula and ameboid movements in the blood cells of arthropods”

If one observes a drop of blood of Limulus, or of other arthropods, under the microscope immediately after it has left the body, an interesting phenomenon is seen. The large majority of the cell granula become smaller and soon disappear. The cells which were at first oval become round and send out hyalin protoplasm and pseudopodia. Movements of the protoplasm may be observed for a long time, but ultimately they cease, when the cells are spread out entirely and in this condition the cells gradually die.

It has been the author's aim to determine the conditions which inhibit or accelerate this apparently spontaneous dissolution of the cell granula. From the results of these investigations, which cannot be given here in detail, it follows that the fate of the granules of arthropod blood-cells depends upon certain mechanical conditions, and that the apparently spontaneous dissolution of cell granula can to a large degree be inhibited by preventing certain mechanical irritations of the cells. The changes taking place in the granules are very fine indicators of certain mechanical or chemical alterations in the environment of the cells. Such changes are determined by the character of the foreign bodies with which the cells come in contact, lipoid substances being especially favorable for the preservation of the granules. Temperature, osmotic conditions and the reaction of the medium in which the cells are suspended, influence the granules in a definite way. Furthermore, the presence of certain electrolytes is necessary for the preservation of the granules in isotonic, hypotonic, and, with the exception of sugar solutions, also in hypertonic solutions. The cell granules are dissolved in isotonic solutions of non-electrolytes. Different electrolytes exert different, specific influences.

We see, moreover, that certain substances may dissolve cell granules without enabling the protoplasm to carry out ameboid movements, but in the large majority of cases a certain parallelism is observed between the fat contents of the granules and the ameboid movements of the cells.