The bodies of Eberth as a source of connective tissue ground substance in Rana catesbiana, Shaw

Abstract The bodies of Eberth in the skins of tadpoles appear in young stages as fine threads and develop into heavy, amorphous masses in close contact with the basal membranes of the epidermal cells. They possess extensions which pass from the epidermal cells through their membranes into the corium. During metamorphosis, when the amount of dermal connective tissue is greatly increased, the bodies disappear the more distal first and the most proximal latest. The processes which pass into the dermis are the last parts to remain visible. Examination of a series of stages suggests that they pass through the cell membranes of the epidermis and into the corium. The bodies then, may be regarded as reserve accumulations of secreted material which are used up in the formation of dermal connective tissue. This explanation accounts for three otherwise unexplained peculiarities of the skin of the developing frog: (1) the presence and growth of the bodies of Eberth; (2) their disappearance during metamorphosis; (3) the sudden large increase in connective tissue fibers of the dermis at metamorphosis.