THE NEPHRIDIUM OF LUMBRICUS. 293 



The Nephridium of Lumbricus and its Blood- 

 supply; with Remarks on the Nephridia in 

 other Ch83topoda. 



By 



^W, Blaxland Benbam, ]>.8c« (liond*). 



Anatomical Department, Oxford. 



With Plates XXIII— XXV. 



The nephridium of the common earthworm has recently 

 been the subject of a contribution by Dr. Goehlich (20), in 

 which he remarks on various statements made by Gegenbaur 

 in his classical paper on the subject, published in 1853 (19), 

 in which he corrected the then prevailing view that the seg- 

 mentally arranged tubes were respiratory, and suggested their 

 excretory function. 



As several of Goehlich's statements are at variance with those 

 of Gegenbaur I was led to look into the details of the organ, 

 and I then found that on those points the more recent writer 

 was in error, and that Gegenbaur^s description is much more 

 nearly correct than GoehlicVs. In fact, I have not very much 

 to add to the description of the earlier writer beyond matters 

 of histological detail, and more especially the blood-supply, 

 which Professor Lankester suggested that I should work out. 



The work was carried out in the Zoological Laboratory of 

 University College during the past eighteen months. 



