1895] MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 103 



tions compared witli tlie simple larval tube. There is a 

 distinct esophagus which leads into a much twisted and 

 elongated intestine. The mucosa of the whole alimen- 

 tary tract is prolonged into many folds which nearly fill 

 the lumen of the canal with their mucosal plates. The 

 intestine is throughout the greater part of its length 

 entirely free in the body cavity but at its caudal end it 

 is dorsally connected by fine bands which are vascular 

 in nature. The largest is an artery of considerable size 

 that enters the typhlosole and flowing toward the head 

 anastomoses with the descending mesenteric artery. The 

 external portal vein of the larva is gone and a large vein 

 now flows in the typhlosole with the mesenteric artery 

 and empties into the liver. At its caudal end instead of 

 becoming smaller it passes out onto the outer surface 

 of the intestine and forming together with the artery 

 before mentioned a large band, enters a large blood sinus 

 lying between the two cardinal or body veins. By in- 

 jection this sinus was found to terminate blindly at its 

 anterior end ; the flow of blood through it was candad. 

 Receiving all the blood from the gonads and kidneys it 

 evidently serves to introduce a large amount of venous 

 blood from the urogenital and body veins into the portal 

 system. This connection between these two systems 

 gives these Marsipobranchs another feature in common 

 with the very dissimilar members of their group the 

 Myxinoids, 



The liver is bright yellow during most of the animal's 

 life but turns dark green during the spawning season. 

 There is no gall bladder and consequently no gall duct. 



The muscular walls of the intestine are but slightly 

 developed. The epithelium is composed of a single layer 

 of columnar epithelial cells of which there are three dis- 

 tinct kinds, ciliated cells, striated-borded cells and gran- 

 ular, non-striated, non-ciliated cells. The surface of the 

 epithelium is at irregular and frequent intervals de- 



