1. In mice, haemosiderin is formed in the wall of the uterus from the blood extravasated into the tissues when the placenta breaks away at parturition.

2. The pigment is formed, probably exclusively, within the phagocytes, and forms a mass in the mesenteric wall of the uterus.

3. In mice of the cancerous strain used in this study (R III strain of Dobrovolskaia-Lavadskaia) the haemosiderin is formed more slowly and is disposed of much more slowly than in the non-cancerous strains examined.

4. Phagocytic inefficiency in the cancerous strain is suggested and its possible connexion with susceptibility to cancer is discussed.

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Copyright © 1947 by the Company of Biologists Ltd.
1947