40 Experiments on Fluids^ &c. 



I had been led to believe, and therefore the rhubarb, in my 

 former experiments detected in t'ae spleen, must have been 

 deposited there in the same manner as in the urine and in 

 the bile. 



The detection oi this error made me more anxious to 

 avoid beins; misled respecting the thoracic duct ; and there- 

 fore, although there \va? little probability that the infusion 

 of rhubarb could have passed into the lymphatic vessels, 

 which open into the blood-vessels of the right side of the 

 neck, I thought it right, before i proceeded further, to re- 

 peat the experiment, securing the termination of the tho- 

 racic duct on the left side, and the lymphatic trunk of the 

 right side, where it empties iiseU' into the angle between 

 the jugular and subclavian vein. This was done on the 

 S8th of October, 1810, with the assistance of the same 

 persons as in the last experiment. 



Experiment 4. — The thoracic duct of a dog was tied, as 

 in the former experiment ; in doing it the duct vvas wound- 

 ed, and about a drachm of chyle flowed out; the lymphatic 

 trunk of the right side was ttien secured. After this, three 

 ounces of infusion of rhubarb were injected into the sto- 

 mach, and in an hour the dog was killed. Tiic urine and 

 the bile were found distinctly impregnated with rhubarb. 

 On opening the thorax, some absorbent vessels, distended 

 with lymph, were seen on the right side of the spme, en- 

 tering an absorbent gland on the second dorsal vertebra, 

 and the vasa efferentia from the gland were seen uniting 

 with other absorbent vessels, and extending towards the 

 ricrht shoulder, where they formed a common trunk with 

 the absorbents from the neck and axilla ; this trunk was 

 found included in the ligature. The thoracic duct was mo- 

 derately distended with a mixture of chyle and lymph ; in 

 tracing it upwards, an opening was seen in it immediately 

 below the ligature, through which the contents readily- 

 passed out when pressure was made on the duct: above 

 this opening the duct was completely secured by the liga- 

 ture. Nearly a drachm of the fluid contained in the tho- 

 racic duct was collected and tested bv potash, but there 

 did not appear to be any impregnation of rhubarb. 



Experiment 5. — The last experiment was repeated on 

 another dog, on the 2lst of January, 1811, with the assist- 

 ance of Mr. Erodie, Mr. W. Brande, Mr. Clift, and Mr. 

 Gatcotnbc. The dog was killed an hour after the thoracic 

 ftuct and lympl atic trunk had been secured, and the infu- 

 sion of rhubarb had been injected into the stomach. 



In lying the right lymphatic trunk, a lymphatic vessel, 



from 



