260 SPECIAL HISTOLOGY. 



lodged, to a certain extent, in a plexus of capillaries, and 

 being surrounded on all sides by them, is very abundantly 

 supplied with blood. The capillaries of muscle are among the 

 most minute in the human body, their diameter being often 

 less than that of the blood-corpuscles themselves. In one of 

 HyrtPs preparations, they measure 0-0025 — 0003'"; in the 

 pectoralis major, when filled with blood, 0002 — 0-003'", and 

 when empty 0-0016 — 00020'". 



The tendons may be reckoned amongst those parts of the 

 body which are the most scantily supplied with blood-vessels. 

 The smaller tendons, in the interior, present no trace of vessels, 

 whilst externally, in the more lax connective tissue by which 

 they are surrounded, there exists a wide-meshed capillary 

 plexus. In the larger tendons, a few vessels occur in the 

 superficial layers, and in the largest, by means of the micro- 

 scope and injection, a scanty vascular network may also be 

 rendered evident in the deeper layers; but even in this case 

 the innermost portions of the tendon are entirely without 

 vessels. The tendon-ligaments present the same conditions as 

 the tendons, only, that in them even still fewervessels can be per- 

 ceived. The thinner fasciae, also, are altogether non- vascular ; 

 sparing ramifications, exclusive of those in the lax connective 

 tissue, amply supplied with blood-vessels, which covers their 

 surface, are found in the thicker fasciae, such as the fascia 

 lata. The synovial membranes of the muscular system, on 

 the other hand, are very vascular, and especially their vascular 

 processes ; with respect to these synovial membranes, however, 

 since they agree in all respects with the synovial capsules of 

 the osseous system, nothing further need be remarked in this 

 place. 



B. The muscles are very scantily supplied with lymphatics ; 

 the smaller muscles, in fact, such as the omohyoid, subcrural, 

 &c, have none at all, either in their substance or on the 

 surface ; and among the largest muscles, it is only in some, 

 that solitary lymphatics, measuring { and i"' are seen accom- 

 panying the blood-vessels. The deep or muscular blood- 

 vessels in the extremities, it is true, are accompanied by lym- 

 phatics, but these are few in number ; and from the latter two 

 circumstances, it may be concluded, that even the larger mus- 

 cles are but poorly supplied with these vessels. If they had 



