The Organ-Like Nature of the Subcutaneous Fat Bodies in the Chicken ,

Abstract

MANY of the basic points regarding the origin, structure and physiology of “adipose tissue” are still unsettled (Rasmussen, 1923; Wassermann, 1926; Wells, 1940; Eastlick and Wortham, 1947; Wertheimer and Shapiro, 1948). Among the various interpretations concerning the origin and function of adipose tissue in mammals is the hypothesis developed by Wassermann (1926, 1927, 1929, 1931) that the fat lobule arises from a primitive organ which is a syncytium of capillaries and mesenchymal cells. When the primitive organ becomes filled with lipids, it is called a fat organ, a structure which Wassermann states is related to the reticulo-endothelial system. Clara (1929), in a study of avian fat bodies, and Hoffman (1950), in an investigation of human adipose tissue, arrived at conclusions which are essentially in agreement with Wassermann. Wodzicki (1927), in a histological study of the skin and the distribution of the body fat, found that several subcutaneous fat deposits occurred …