fflf SCMINAL VERMICULlV J^§ 



might be verified or confuted, I examined many 

 clots from each fpermatic fluid, which at firft waa 

 very difficult to accomplifh ; for the folid and 

 confiftent parts of the human femen are com- 

 monly immerfed in the fluid parts, even while in, 

 the feminal veflTels. Thefe trivial obfl:acles were 

 at length overcome. With the extremity of a. 

 pair of fmall pincers, I took a portion of hu- 

 man femen, fimilar to coagulated milk, from the 

 feminal veflels : as it was moifl:, 1 drew it along, 

 a dry piece of glafs that it might depolit its hu- 

 midity, and then put it into a watch-glafs, at- 

 tending its dilTolution in order to apply the mi- 

 crofcope. It was not without vermicuh. Com- 

 pared with another portion of the fluid part, ta- 

 ken from the veflels, there was no proportion ; 

 the number in the folid was fo much fmaller thaa 

 in the fluid parts. 



Thefe refults did not fatisfy me : the few ver- 

 miculi in the folid femen might be owing to fome 

 little portion of fluid remaining along with it ^ 

 and, inflead of finding few, I could have wifhed 

 to find none, or almoft none. Having taken 

 another clot of human femen from the vefl!els, I 

 endeavoured, as far as pofTible, to difengage it 

 from the fluid that might remain in and about 

 it. Here we Ihould obferve, en pajfanf, that this 

 operation of drawing along the folid part, to 

 take away the fluid, fliould be performed with 



2"reat 



