[THOMPSON] CERVICAL REGION OF THE FROG 65 
the investigations upon various animals of Vincent and Jolly’, Forsyth’, 
Halpenny and Thompson,’ Mrs. F. D. Thompson‘ and others. 
Development. 
According to Maurer the parathyroids arise as solid epithelial buds 
from the ventral ends of the third and fourth clefts. They are soon 
separated off, and the posterior one approaches closer to the anterior. 
3. VENTRAL BRANCHIAL Bopy. 
Historical. 
This body was drawn and described by C. G. Carus in 1818, who 
thought it was the thyroid, as did also Leydig (see above). The structure 
and development of the organ were worked out by Toldt,? Maurer® and 
Mayer.’ 
Anatomy. 
The ventral branchial body is the largest and most striking of the 
glands with which we have to deal. On making a preliminary dissection 
of this part of the frog the only glandular organs which are at once 
visible are the ventral branchial body, the propericardial and the 
procoracoid bodies. It is difficult to understand how it happens that 
the ventral branchial body has received so little attention in the past. 
It is scarcely mentioned in the English and American text books, and 
until the publication of my paper last summer (Phil. Trans. R.S. Lond.) 
had not received any English name. It is placed in a niche behind the 
omohyoid muscle in the angle between this and the sternohyoid 
(Pl. I, fig. 1, v.b.b.). It is usually reddish, but varies in tint in 
different specimens. Its length is 1-7 mm. and breadth 0-75 mm. It 
has sulei and appears superficially lobulated. There is an abundant 
development of blood vessels in its neighbourhood (PI. III, fig. 3). 


1 Journ. of physiol. 32 No. 1, 1904. 
? Journ. Anat. & Physiol., Vol. 42, 1908. 
3 Anat. Anz. Vol. 34, 1909, p. 376. 
* Loc. cit. 
5 Sitzimgsber. d. K. Akad. d. Wissensch., Math-naturw. Cl., Vol. 58, Sect. 2, 
1868 (Wien). 
8 Morph. Jahrb. Vol. 13, 1888. 
7 Anat. Anz. 3 Jahrg., 1888. 
