30 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



covery of a very remarkable series of compounds containing osmium, 

 ruthenium, or iridium. These investigations have thus far been suc- 

 cessful, a few difficulties only remaining to be overcome. They have 

 not merely yielded wholly new methods of separation, but have re- 

 sulted in the discovery of an entirely new class of salts, possessing 

 much theoretical and practical interest. It is by means of these salts 

 that Dr. Gibbs has succeeded in effecting a satisfactory separation of 

 the different metals of the group. The memoir embodying a detailed 

 description of the processes of Dr. Gibbs will consist of four- parts. 

 The first will treat of the methods of bringing the ores into a soluble 

 condition ; the second, of the methods of separating the metals from 

 each other ; the third, of the new salts and bases discovered ; and the 

 fourth, of the general relations of the metals of the group. A large 

 part of the work is already completed, and the author expects to have 

 the whole ready for the press is a few months. 



Beside the papers described, a number of others have been accepted 

 for publication, or are in preparation, at the expense of the Smithson- 

 ian fund. Among the former we may mention an elaborate memoir 

 on the anatomy of the human liver, by Dr. Schmidt, of New Orleans, 

 of which the following are the principal points : 1 . The accumulation 

 of additional evidence of the existence of a network of capillary vessels 

 previously discovered by the author, and described by him as "biliary 

 tubules," from which start the smallest hepatic ducts. This network 

 is independent of that in which the smallest branches of the j>orta- 

 vein, hepatic artery, and veins arise. 2. The discovery of minute 

 lymphatics of the liver, and their origin in the network of biliary 

 tubules, by which a communication between the hepatic ducts and 

 lymphatics is established. 3. The discovery of lymphatic vessels, 

 directly joining small hepatic ducts, by which a second communication 

 between these vessels is established. 4. A minute description of a 

 system of small follicular and racemose glands, the ducts of which 

 form extensive plexuses throughout the liver, and their relationship to 

 the other constituents of the organ. These glands have been imperfectly 

 described by some authors, but their true relations have never been 

 known. 5. The discovery of a communication of the lymphatics with 

 the ducts of these glands. As many of the latter join the hepatic 

 ducts, a third communication between the lymphatics and hepatic 

 ducts is thus indirectly established. 



The memoir also contains several other points of minor importance, 

 together with a minute description of the blood vessels, hepatic cells, 

 &c., perhaps more definite than has heretofore been given. The dis- 



