THE KIDNEYS. 75 



and the commencement of the ureter behind.* The artery on 

 the right side is longer than that on the left. The reverse is 

 the case with the emulgent veins, as they empty into the vena 

 cava ascendens. This arrangement is owing to the reUtive 

 position of the aorta and the vena cava ascendens, as the first is 

 on the left side of the spine, and the last on the right side. 



The nerves come from the solar plexas of the sympathetic, 

 and adhering to the arteries cannot be traced very far through 

 the glandular structure. The quantity of lymphatics is consi- 

 derable. 



The arteries of the kidneys, in ramifying minutely through 

 its structure, adopt the following arrangement. They first of 

 all pass through the processes sent inwards from the cortical 

 matter between the Pyramids of Malpighi, or large cones, and, 

 having got fairly into the cortical matter, they divide into very 

 fine twigs, which form arcades around the bases of the pyramids 

 of Ferrein, and pass between them.t These arcades have but 

 few anastomoses with each other, and their branches go almost 

 exclusively to the cortical substance, very few of them bekig 

 found on the tubular. Their branches radiate from the con- 

 vexities of the arches so as to surround the base of each cone, 

 and to penetrate to the surface of the kidney. Some of these 

 branches terminate in corresponding veins, and otker-s on the 

 granular corpuscles, or acini- The connexion between the cor- 

 puscles arid the arteries, has been compared to that between 

 grapes and the stems on which they grow, so as to form a bunch. 

 The veins penetrate the substance of the kidney, and have a 

 similar distribution; but they are much larger than the arteries, 

 and have free, large and numerous anastomoses. A connexion 

 of the corpuscles with the veins is not quite evident, and, even 

 if it does exist, remains yet to be proved ; at least, in the opinion 

 of some anatomists: the fact, however, is well established, that 

 fine injections will readily pass from the veins into the tubuli 



uriniferL 







The kidneys are subject to a false position: in one instance, 

 I found in a young female subject one of the kidneys in tbe pel-- 



* This rule is subject to frequent variations. 

 t Schumlansky. 



