At the end of the period K the muscle-plates have extended dorsally two-thirds of the way up the sides of the spinal cord, and ventrally to the level of the segmental duct. Their edges are not straight, but are bent into an angular form, with the apex pointing forwards. Vide Pl. 12, fig. 17, _mp_. Before the end of the period a number of connective-tissue cells make their appearance, and extend upwards from the dorsal summit of the muscle-plates around the top of the spinal cord. These cells are at first rounded, but become typical branched connective-tissue cells before the close of the period (Pl. 11, figs. 7 and 8). Between stages I and K the bodies of the vertebræ rapidly increase in size and send prolongations downwards and inwards to meet below the notochord. These soon become indistinguishably fused with other cells which appear in the area between the alimentary cavity and the notochord, but probably serve alone to form the vertebral bodies, while the cells adjoining them form the basis for the connective tissue of the kidneys, &c. The vertebral bodies also send prolongations dorsalwards between the sides of the spinal cord and the muscle-plates. These grow round till they meet above the spinal and enclose the dorsal nerve-roots. They soon however become fused with the dorsal prolongations from the muscle-plates, at least so far as my methods of investigation enable me to determine; but it appears to me probable that they in reality remain distinct, and become converted into the neural arches, while the connective-tissue cells from the muscle-plates form the adjoining subcutaneous and inter-muscular connective tissue. All the cells of the vertebral rudiments become stellate and form typical embryonic connective-tissue. The rudiments however still retain their primitive segmentation, corresponding with that of the muscle-plates, and do not during this period acquire their secondary segmentation. Their segmentation is however less clear than it was at an earlier period, and in the dorsal part of the vertebral rudiments is mainly indicated by the dorsal nerve-roots, which always pass out in the interval between two vertebral rudiments. Vide Pl. 12, fig. 12, _pr_.