ALBINO RAT VISCERA, GLANDS, EYEBALLS.* WEIGHTS 89 



Method of dissection 



The animal was removed from the colony in the morning be- 

 fore feeding and killed by chlorofonn. The gross body weight 

 (to one-tenth of a gram) and the linear measurements were next 

 taken. For the latter determinations, the animal was placed 

 with the abdominal side up and the following measurements 

 made with the calipers: (1) Total length, the distance between 

 the tip of the nose and the tip of the tail; (2) body length, dis- 

 tance between the tip of the nose and anal opening; (3) tail 

 length, obtained by the difference between measurements (1) 

 and (2). The linear measurements were m,ade to the nearest 

 millimeter. 



The animal was then at once opened with the scissors along 

 the abdominal line from the anus to the level of the diaphragm. 

 Thus the thorax was left closed to prevent evaporation from the 

 thoracic viscera while the abdominal organs were being removed. 



All the dissections were made beneath a glass hood designed to 

 protect the operator against draughts and so prevent a loss of 

 moisture from the organs during their removal. 



The details of the procedure for each organ will be given in 

 the order of removal. The following entries give the names of 

 the organs in this order, unless otherwise stated. Each organ was 

 prepared rapidly and then put alone .or with others into a closed 

 weighing bottle. Only the special treatment (if any) of an organ 

 is noted in each case: 



1. Liver: The blood which fills the main vessels was gently 

 squeezed out before the liver was placed in the weighing bottle. 



2. Spleen: The blood vessels were cut close to the hilum. 



3. Testes: Accessory organs such as the epididymis, are not 

 included. 



4. The alimentary tract was removed from the level of the 

 diaphragm to the anus, together with the pancreas and mesentery, 

 and any other adherent structures, such as fat, were left intact. 

 The oesophagus was therefore not included. The stomach was 

 cut open and the contents removed. The contents of the small 

 intestine were removed by gentle pressure along its entire course 



