LYMPHATIC SYSTEM. 137 



stant, either in number or situation ; and therefore the describ- 

 ing them particularly in any one subject is less necessary, since 

 we cannot be sure of finding them exactly the same in any 

 other. Secondly, the injecting the lymphatic vessels from the 

 groin to the neck, without filling one lymphatic gland, proves 

 a fact which is contradictory to the received opinion concern- 

 ing those vessels, viz that they always pass through glands in 

 their way to the blood-vessels, so that if these glands were ob- 

 structed, a dropsy must be an inevitable consequence, which is 

 not strictly true when we speak of the lymphatic vessels in the 

 abdomen, where, I find, besides the vessels which go into the 

 glands, there are generally some which escape them. The 

 same is true with respect to the lacteals, so that an obstruction 

 of the mesenteric glands may not always produce a marasmus, 

 as a part of the chyle may pass the glands and get into the 

 thoracic duct. 



But although no lymphatic glands are represented in Plate II, 

 it may be necessary to mention where they are commonly seen. 



The mesentery of the human subject is well known to con- 

 tain a considerable number of them ; they are likewise found 

 in the mesocolon where the lymphatics of the large intestines 

 pass through them. The stomach has also several glands which 

 belong to its lymphatic vessels, and lie near the arteria coro- 

 naria, and the arteria gastrica dextra. There are likewise a few 

 upon the omentum in some subjects, and there are also many 

 glands by the sides of the pancreas, particularly near the lesser 

 lobe of that viscus, close to the duodenum. 



Besides these glands which belong to the intestinal tube, 

 there are many more in the cavity of the abdomen, and a few 

 in the cavity of the pelvis, which belong to the lymphatic ves- 

 sels of the other organs. 



There is commonly a pretty considerable"gland seen just on 

 the inside of the edge of the tendon of the external oblique 

 muscle, called Poupart's ligament, on the outside of the iliac 

 artery ; and there are others near that artery, where it lies upon 

 the psoas muscle. There are likewise commonly one or two 

 near the internal iliac artery in the cavity of the pelvis, and 

 there is a considerable number generally met with by the sides, 

 and upon the lumbar vertebrae. In the subject from which I 

 took Plate II, the spaces i, i, i, were occupied by such glands, 



