130 LYMPHATIC SYSTEM. 



of them pass up in the inside of the artery, as is seen at m, n 

 Plate I, fig. 1, and at c,c Plate II. 



These superficial lymphatics, small as they are/ probably are 

 the trunks of those vessels which absorb from the skin and the 

 cellular membrane immediately under it ; and as no considerable 

 branches can be distinguished on the outside of the leg or 

 thigh, it is probable that all the lymphatic vessels of those 

 parts bend towards the inside, and open into the trunks that 

 are here represented. 



Upon these vessels, from the foot to the groin, there is com- 

 monly not one lymphatic gland. But this rule has likewise 

 some exceptions, for, even at the lower part of the leg, there 

 is a very small one in the subject from which this plate was 

 taken ; it is represented at d Plate I, fig. 1 ; and in another sub- 

 ject I saw a small lymphatic gland near e, but these, I believe, 

 seldom occur ; however, they lead to this conclusion, that the 

 lymphatic glands even in the human body, are in number and 

 situation a little different in different subjects. 



Besides these superficial lymphatic vessels which lie above all 

 the muscles, or in the cellular membrane under the skin, there 

 is a set deeper seated, that lie amongst the muscles and accom- 

 pany the crural artery : of these the principal trunk can be 

 discovered by cutting down to the posterior tibial artery, near 

 the inner ankle ; I have introduced a pipe into it at this part, 

 and have injected it in several subjects, one of which is re- 

 presented in Plate I, fig. 2. 



From the inner ankle at , Plate I, fig. 2, this vessel passes 

 up along with the posterior tibial artery, being hid amongst the 

 muscles on the back part of the tibia. About the middle of the 

 leg it enters a small gland at c-, and as I have seen this gland in 

 several subjects, I suspect it will be commonly found. Having 

 passed through this gland, the lymphatic runs up to the back 

 part of the ham, still lying close to the artery, and in the ham 

 it passes through three glands, viz. f,g,h. I have seen a 

 subject in which I could find only two glands, so that I suspect 



1 With respect to the size of these lymphatics, it is necessary to observe that 

 in this plate all of them appear larger than they ought to be in proportion to the 

 size of the limb. 



