266 CIRCULATORY 



the spine, so as to reach the opening in the tendinous centre 

 of the diaphragm, through which it passes just before it ter- 

 minates in the auricle. It is bounded on the left side by the 

 aorta ; and above the latter it is in front of the left pillar of 

 the diaphragm. Its lower extremity is crossed in front by the 

 root of the primitive iliac artery; it is also crossed in its ascent 

 by the duodenum and the pancreas. Its upper extremity is be- 

 hind the liver, and frequently passes through the substance of 

 this viscus. 



It receives the middle sacral, the lumbar, the spermatic, the 

 emulgent, the capsular, the hepatic, and the phrenic veins. 



The Middle Sacral Vein (Vena Sacra Media"} forms, as has 

 been just mentioned in the account of the branches of the hy- 

 pogastric vein, a part of the sacral plexus. Its trunk follows 

 the course of the middle sacral artery on the front of the sa- 

 crum, and discharges into the commencement of the vena cava, 

 in the fork formed by the junction of the primitive iliacs. 



The Lumbar Veins (Venae Lumbales) correspond with the 

 lumbar arteries, and are commonly four or five in number on 

 each side. Their primitive roots anastomose with the epigas- 

 tric, the last intercostal, and the circumflex iliac veins; the 

 dorsal branches of them also anastomose with the vertebral 

 sinuses, through the intervertebral foramina. Their trunks 

 pass along with the arteries, between the bodies of the vertebras 

 and the psoas magnus muscle, or through the fasciculi of the 

 latter: those on the left side pass behind the aorta, in order to 

 reach the vena cava, and are, consequently, longer than such as 

 are on the right. 



The Spermatic Veins (Vence Spermaticce.) The right one 

 extends from the testicle to the ascending cava, just below the 

 emulgent veins; while the one on the left empties into the left 

 emulgent vein. They are larger than the corresponding arte- 

 ries, and present some peculiarities in the two sexes. 



In the male, the extremities of these veins begin in the testi- 

 cle, and issue from it through the tunica albuginea; some of them 

 also arise from the epididymis. They anastomose with the su- 



