524 THE RABBIT CHAP. 



(vr) which passes through the vertebrarterial canal of the 

 cervical vertebrae (p. 498) and supplies the spinal cord and 

 brain, and an anterior epigastric or internal mammary (a. epg) 

 running along the inner side of the ventral wall of the 

 thorax. The aorta gives off, in the thorax, a series of small 

 paired intercostal arteries (i. cs) to the body- walls, and then 

 passes into the abdomen, between the pillars of the 

 diaphragm. 



A short distance behind the diaphragm the cceliac artery 

 (Figs. 137 and 140,, c<z) arises, and supplies the liver, 

 stomach, and spleen ; and about half or three-quarters of an 

 inch further back is the anterior mesenteric artery (a. m. a), 

 the branches of which pass to the small intestine, pancreas, 

 caecum, and colon. Close behind the anterior mesenteric is 

 the right and rather further back the left renal artery (Fig. 

 140, r\ and still more posteriorly, a posterior mesenteric 

 (p. m) to the rectum, and a pair of spermatic or ovarian arteries 

 (spm) to the spermaries or ovaries, as the case may be. 

 A small caudal artery (m. sc\ corresponding to the caudal 

 continuation of the aorta, arises from the dorsal surface of the 

 posterior part of the latter just in front of a pair of large 

 common iliac arteries (c. il. a\ which appear like a bifurcation 

 of the aorta. These are continued outwards and backwards 

 towards the hind-limbs, each giving off an ilio-lumbar artery 

 (/./) to the dorsal body- wall and then dividing into an 

 internal iliac (i. il. a) passing along the dorsal side of the 

 pelvic cavity, and an external iliac (e. il. a) which gives off an 

 artery to the bladder (s. vs), and in the female one to 

 the part of the oviduct known as the uterus (uf) ; and 

 then, passing beneath Poupart's ligament (p. 506) to the 

 hind-limb, becomes the femoral artery (fm. a), from the 

 proximal end of which a posterior epigastric (p. epg) 

 runs forwards in the ventral abdominal wall. Small lumbar 



