Henry Gray (1825–1861). Anatomy of the Human Body. 1918.
pages 1281
Glomus Caroticum (Carotid Glands; Carotid Bodies)—The carotid bodies, two in number, are situated one on either side of the neck, behind the common carotid artery at its point of bifurcation into the external and internal carotid trunks. They are reddish brown in color and oval in shape, the long diameter measuring about 5 mm. |
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FIG. 1186– Section of part of human glomus caroticum. (Schaper.) Highly magnified. Numerous bloodvessels are seen in section among the gland cells. (See enlarged image) |
| Each is invested by a fibrous capsule and consists largely of spherical or irregular masses of cells (Fig. 1186), the masses being more or less isolated from one another by septa which extend inward from the deep surface of the capsule. The cells are polyhedral in shape, and each contains a large nucleus imbedded in finely granular protoplasm, which is stained yellow by chromic salts. Numerous nerve fibers, derived from the sympathetic plexus on the carotid artery, are distributed throughout the organ, and a net-work of large sinusoidal capillaries ramifies among the cells. |
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FIG. 1187– Section of an irregular nodule of the glomus coccygeum. (Sertoli.) X 85. The section shows the fibrous covering of the nodule, the bloodvessels within it, and the epithelial cells of which it is constituted. (See enlarged image) |
Glomus Coccygeum (Coccygeal Gland or Body; Luschka’s Gland)—The glomus coccygeum is placed in front of, or immediately below, the tip of the coccyx. It is about 2.5 mm. in diameter and is irregularly oval in shape; several smaller nodules are found around or near the main mass. |
| It consists of irregular masses of round or polyhedral cells (Fig. 1187), the cells |