ORGANS OF DIGESTION. 



117 



cavity, near the iliac bone. The intestine is supported by 

 the folds of the peritoneum known as the mesenteries. 



The large intestine consists of the cacum, colon, and 

 rectum. The ccccum is the blind conical projection at the 



FIG. 61. TRANSVERSE SECTION OF 

 THE CAT. 



t, Sections of the intestine; d, 

 duodenum; a, aorta; pan, pan- 

 creas ; pa, pancreas Aselli ; spl, 

 spleen ; sp, spinous process of 

 the lumbar vertebra ; tr, trans- 

 verse process ; v, post-cava or 

 inferior vena cava ; om, greater 

 omentum ; the broken line, is the 

 peritoneum. 



FIG. 62. CROSS-SECTION OF THE 

 CARDIAC END OF THE STOMACH. 

 X3- 



cav, Cavity of the stomach; ex, 

 external muscular coat ; in, in- 

 ternal muscular coat ; m, mu- 

 cous coat; mm, muscularis 

 mucosae; s, submucous or are- 

 olar coat ; se, serous or peri- 

 toneal coat. 



beginning of the large intestine. It is only one or two 

 centimeters long. There is no vermiform appendix in the 

 cat. The ileum opens into the large intestine at the junc- 

 tion of the caecum and colon. An annular fold of mucous 

 membrane, strengthened by a sphincter muscle, forms the 

 ileocaecal valve, which retains the food in the small intestine 

 until the nutriment is absorbed (Fig. 60). 



The colon, extending from the caecum to the rectum, is 

 composed of the ascending, transverse, and descending 

 parts. The ascending colon lies on the right side ; the trans- 



