A STATISTICAL STUDY OF THE THORACIC 

 DUCT IN AIANi 



HENRY K. DAVIS 



From the Analomical Laboratory of the Cornell University Medical College, 

 Ithaca, Neiv Yo7-k 



THIRTY-TWO-FIGURES 



INTRODUCTION 



It has long been known that the thoracic duct in man presents 

 a certain amount of variation and in addition to the usually 

 described ducts A^arious marked anomalous conditions have 

 been noted. This investigation was undertaken to determine the 

 percentage of occurrence of the different variations of the thoracic 

 duct. An attempt has also been made to explain these vari- 

 ations from an embryological standpoint. The various types 

 of duct that might develop from the primitive embryological 

 network have been indicated and the ducts here described to- 

 gether with those described by other investigators have been 

 divided into corresponding groups. 



MATERIAL AND METHODS 



This paper is based upon the records of the dissection of 22 

 cadavers in the Anatomical Laboratory of the Cornell Univer- 

 sity ^Medical College, Ithaca, New York. Forty-two cadavers, 

 on which autopsies had been performed, were examined, but 

 many of them had to be discarded on account of injury to the 

 duct at the post mortem. In 11 of these however, the duct 

 was found complete and records were taken of the ducts in these 

 bodies. The other 11 records were taken from bodies which 

 were dissected by the medical students. During the course of 



1 From a thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell 

 University for the degree of Master of Arts, June, 1914. 



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