298 CIRCULATORY SYSTEM. 



SECT. V. ABSORBENTS OF THE ORGANS OF DIGESTION. 



The Absorbents of the Stomach are very numerous, and lie 

 in two planes ; one is superficial, being immediately beneath the 

 peritoneal coat, and the other is profound, being placed be- 

 tween the muscular and the mucous coat. They are, finally, 

 assembled into three divisions, which follow the course of the 

 principal blood vessels of this organ. 



One division, coming from the anterior and the posterior 

 faces of the stomach, converges to its lesser curvature, and 

 passes through some six or eight small glands in the adjacent 

 portion of the lesser omentum. Inclining to the right of the 

 cardiac orifice, they then pass through some glands common to 

 them and to the deep lymphatics of the liver. Their numbers 

 being reduced, they then descend behind the pancreas, and 

 terminate in the thoracic duct near the coeliac artery. 



The second division comes from the left inferior portion of 

 the stomach, and from its greater extremity, and, blending with 

 the absorbents of the spleen and pancreas, goes with them into 

 the thoracic duct. 



The third division comes from the right inferior portion of 

 the stomach, and, assembling towards the pylorus, are subse- 

 quently mixed with some of the absorbents of the liver and of 

 the~small intestines, and go along with them into the thoracic 

 duct. 



The Absorbents of the Great Omentum join those of the 

 stomach and of the colon, at the points most convenient to 

 them. 



The Absorbents of the Small Intestines, like those of the 

 stomach, are both superficial and deep, and from the function of 

 conveying chyle, have been called lacteals, or chyliferous ves- 

 sels. As the chyle, however, can only be absorbed by the deep 

 ones; and, as they and the superficial have common trunks, as 

 they also absorb, from the intestines, fluids not converted into 

 chyle, there seems to be no necessity for distinguishing them 

 by a particular epithet. The deep are in the cellular coat of 

 the intestine, and follow the ramifications of the arteries, being 



