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Nachdruck verboten. 
On the Valvulae conniventes in Man. 
By H. Sr. Joun Brooxs, 
University Anatomist, Trinity College, Dublin. 
In the Anatomischer Anzeiger of the 20th October, 1892, a paper 
appears entitled “Ueber die Falten der Dünndarmschleimhaut beim 
Menschen”, by Dr. Juttus Kazzanper. In this paper Dr. KAzZANDER 
describes a certain proportion of the valvulae conniventes as forming 
complete rings and others as forming spirals. At the conclusion of 
his paper he lays particular weight on the spiral arrangement and 
appears to be under the impression that this cendition has not been 
previously described. 
In 1889 I made a series of observations on the valvulae con- 
_niventes of the jejunum and observed both the ring-like and the spiral 
arrangements of these folds, and on the third of January, 1890, I 
exhibited some specimens of both varieties at the Meeting of the 
Section of Anatomy and Physiology of the Royal Academy of Medicine 
in Ireland. The following extract is copied from the report of the 
Meeting of the Academy, in the British Medical Journal of Febru- 
ary 8th, 1890, p. 300: “Dr. Brooks pointed out that at least in 
the upper part of the jejunum — to which his observations had been 
confined so far — the valvulae conniventes frequently formed complete 
rings, and sometimes spirals, extending more than once round the 
intestine. He exhibited several specimens.” 
The ring-like arrangement has been described by HENLE and 
by several other anatomists (who are referred to in Dr. KAZZANDER’S 
paper) but has been overlooked in most text-books. The spiral 
arrangement had not, I believe, been described previous to 1890. 
I may add that I made out the arrangement of the valvulae 
conniventes by inflating and drying portions of the jejunum, and that 
when such dried specimens were laid open the arrangement of the 
folds could be well seen. I subsequently, at the suggestion of Pro- 
fessor CUNNINGHAM, distended some portions of small intestine with 
strong alcohol and examined them when they had become rigid. 
I obtained similar results by both methods. 
