488 Royal Society. 



ries ; and they often form complete rings of nerve around the trunks 

 of the great veins. 



The author then describes the nerves which are given off from the 

 anterior margin of each hypogastric ganglion, some of which pass on 

 the outside of the ureter and others on the inside, and meet in front 

 of the ureter in a ganglion, which he calls the middle vesical ganglion. 

 There are other two ganglia, he states, formed on these nerves ; one 

 between the uterus and ureter, and the other between the ureter 

 and vagina. These he calls the internal and external vesical ganglia. 

 Not only is the ureter inclosed within a great ring of nervous mat- 

 ter, which, he says, resembles the oesophageal ganglia in some of the 

 Invertebrata ; but the trunks of the uterine artery and vein are like- 

 wise encircled by a great collar of nervous matter, between which 

 and the hypogastric ganglion several large and some small branches 

 pass. 



The author gives the following description of the vesical ganglia. 

 The internal vesical ganglion, which usually has a flattened or long 

 bulbous shape, is formed entirely upon the nerves which pass from 

 the hypogastric ganglion, and run between the uterus and the ureter. 

 It has an artery which passes through its centre. It first gives off a 

 large branch to the ring of nerve or ganglion which surrounds the 

 uterine blood-vessels ; it then sends branches to the anterior part of 

 the cervix uteri, and afterwards a great number of small filaments to 

 the muscular coat of the bladder behind, where it is in contact with 

 the uterus ; and it then sends forwards a large branch, which termi- 

 nates in the middle vesical ganglion. This ganglion sends off a great 

 number of large nerves to the bladder. Some of these accompany 

 the arteries, and can be seen ramifying with them upon the whole 

 of the superior part of the organ, even to the fundus. Filaments of 

 these nerves, scarcely visible to the naked eye, are seen in one of the 

 preparations ramifying upon the bundles of muscular fibres, occa- 

 sionally forming loops and inclosing them, or passing down between 

 them to the strata of fibres below. Some of the smaller branches of 

 the middle vesical ganglion do not accompany the arteries, but are 

 distributed at once to the parts of the bladder around the ureter. 



The external vesical ganglion is formed entirely upon the nerves 

 which proceed from the hypogastric ganglion, and pass on the out- 

 side of the ureter. This is a small thin ganglion, the branches of 

 which are sent immediately into the muscular coat of the bladder. 

 It usually sends down a long branch to anastomose with the nerves 

 issuing from one of the vaginal ganglia. 



From the inner surface of each hypogastric ganglion numerous 

 small white, soft, nerves pass to the uterus, some of which ramify 

 upon the muscular coat about the cervix, and others spread out 

 under the peritoneum to coalesce with the great ganglia and plexuses 

 situated on the posterior and anterior surfaces of that organ. Large 

 branches also go off from the inner surface of the ganglion to the 

 nerves surrounding the blood-vessels of the uterus, which they ac- 

 company in all their ramifications throughout its muscular coat. 



This paper is illustrated by two drawings, in which the hypogas- 



