356 



DISSECTION OF THE ABDOMEN. 



Fibrous 

 coat 



sends in 



Blood- 

 ie s ' 

 Branching 



Vein agrees 

 with artery, 



Nerves. 



Lymphatics 



Ureter: 



length; 

 size varies; 





Occasion- 



ally double. 



beneath the pressure of the finger. In the injected kidney red points 

 (Malpighian bodies) are scattered through the cortex, giving it a 

 granular appearance. 



The kidney has a fibrous tunic or capsule, which is connected to 

 the glandular substance by fine processes and vessels, and is readily 

 detached from it by slight forca At the inner margin of the 

 kidney it sinks into the sinus, where it sends processes on the enter- 

 ing vessels, and becomes continuous with the outer coat of the 

 excretory duct. 



BLOOD-VESSELS. The artery and vein distributed to the kidney 

 are very large in proportion to the size of the organ they supply. 



Renal artery. Before reaching the kidney the renal artery divides 

 ^ nto ^ our or nve pi eces '> an d these in the sinus break up into 

 smaller branches, which enter the organ between the papillae. 

 They run in the processes of cortical substance that separate the 

 pyramids, being surrounded by sheaths from the fibrous capsule, 

 and undergoing farther subdivision, until they reach the bases of 

 the pyramids. Here the branches form arches, from which the 

 minute offsets to the secreting structures are given off. Some twigs 

 are supplied to the capsule of the kidney ; and these anastomose 

 with the subperitoneal branches of the lumbar arteries. 



Renal vein. The larger branches of the vein spring from arches 

 j^ ^ose of the artery, and take a similar course through the 

 cortical septa to the sinus. In the neighbourhood of the hilum all 

 are commonly united into one trunk, which joins the inferior 

 cava. 



Nerves. The ramifications of the sympathetic nerve may be traced 

 to the smaller branches of the artery. 



The absorbents are superficial and deep. Both unite at the hilum 

 of the kidney, and join the lumbar glands. 



The URETER is the tube by which the fluid excreted in the kidney 

 is conveyed to the bladder. Between its origin and termination 

 the canal measures from fourteen to sixteen inches in length. Its 

 size corresponds commonly with that of a large quill. Near the 

 kidney it is dilated into a funnel-shaped part, named pelvis ; and 

 near the bladder it is again somewhat enlarged, though the lower 

 aperture by which it terminates is the narrowest part of the tube ; 

 but this part of it will be studied later. 



In its course from the kidney to the bladder the ureter is close 

 beneath the peritoneum, and is directed obliquely downwards and 

 inwards along the posterior wall of the abdomen to the pelvis. At 

 first the ureter is placed over the psoas, inclining on the right side 

 towards the inferior vena cava ; and about the middle of the muscle 

 it is crossed by the spermatic vessels. Lower down it lies over the 

 common or external iliac artery, being beneath the pelvic colon 

 on the left side, and the end of the ileum on the right side. Lastly, 

 it inclines forwards below the level of the obliterated hypogasUic 

 artery to reach the base of the bladder. 



Sometimes the ureter is divided into two for a certain distance. 



