354 VESSELS AND NERVES OF THE LIVER. [sect. 1 62. 



organ, which make their appearance at various places of the surface 

 between the lobules. These vessels, measuring in the adult -^'" 

 to ttV in diameter (Theile), in the child to }"', divide, at their 

 places of exit, and some even previously, in a stellate manner into 

 from 3 to 5 subordinate branches, which run in a spirally twisted 

 manner, anastomosing in various ways, and then cover the entire 

 surface of the liver, as far as the large venous trunks {vena hepa- 

 tica, vena porta, cava inferior), the fossse and borders of the organ, 

 with a beautiful arterial network. These arteries, finally, form a 

 wide-meshed plexus of capillaries, and lead, at least in many places, 

 — whether everywhere, I know not, — into veins which run back 

 alongside the arterial vessels, penetrate into the substance of the 

 liver, and open into branches of the portal vein. Accordingly, there 

 would also appear to exist vena advehentes capsulares, or roots of 

 the portal vein, derived from the source mentioned. The arteries 

 and veins of the envelope of the liver are connected at their 

 termination, on the one hand, with branches of the vasa mammaria 

 interna, phrenica, cystica, with the supra-renalia, and renalia dextra 

 (Theile); and, on the other, with those of the capsule of Glisson, 

 vena cava and hepatic veins, in the fossse of the liver. 



3. Rami lobulares. — With every interlobular vein there runs a 

 branch of the hepatic artery, of at most f^"' in diameter (Theile), 

 which divides between the lobules (in the pig, in the capsules of 

 the lobules), into fine anastomosing ramules, and is directly con- 

 nected with the peripheral part of the capillary network of the 

 hepatic lobules or islets, which, as above explained, is formed by 

 the portal vein. Accordingly, arterial blood, though in small 

 quantity, is also concerned in the preparation of the bile, and, in 

 this circumstance, the hepatic artery is different from the bronchial 

 arteries, whose blood is in part conveyed away by special veins. 



The lymphatics of the liver are very numerous, and are divisible 

 into superficial networks, situated beneath the serous covering, and 

 deep vessels, which accompany the portal vein, and, in animals, 

 at least, the hepatic veins also. Both systems of vessels are con- 

 nected with each other, and lead, partly through the diaphragm, 

 into the thoracic cavity, partly to small lymphatic glands in the 

 transverse fissure, and to the visceral plexuses. The lymphatics of 

 the gall-bladder also are extremely numerous. 



The nerves of the liver are relatively very numerous ; they arise 

 from the sympathetic, and, in part, from the vagus, and are espe- 

 cially distributed with the hepatic artery, which they surround with 

 non-ganglionated networks. In addition to numerous fine tubes 



