44 FYFE AND OTHERS ON THE VILLI. 



circumstance concerning these parts in which he should differ 

 from this very acute observer."* 



Mr. Sheldon agrees with Lieberkuhn : but Mr. Cruikshank 

 asserts, that, " in some hundred villi, he has seen the lacteals 

 originate by radiated branches, whose orifices were distinct on 

 the surface of the villus. The villus being transparent, when 

 the intestine was immersed in water, these branches, filled 

 with chyle, could be seen passing into the lacteal. Mr. Cruik- 

 shank therefore supposes that Lieberkuhn was mistaken, and 

 that the spongy cavity, or ampullula, was the common cellular 

 membrane, connecting together all the arteries, veins, nerves, 

 and lacteals. 



It seems probable, from Mr. Cruikshank's statement, that 

 Dr. William Hunter held the same opinion with himself. And 

 there is also reason to believe that Monro the second, who 

 studied anatomy at Berlin, held a different opinion from Lie- 

 berkuhn. 



Mr. Fyfe, who has been much employed in the investigation 

 of the absorbent system, and must be perfectly acquainted with 

 the preparations of Monro, asserts that each lacteal takes 

 its rise upon one of the villi by numerous short radiated 

 branches, and each branch is furnished with an orifice for im- 

 bibing chyle. 



Several of the late French writers adopted the opinion of 

 Lieberkuhn ; but his countryman Soemmering gives a different 

 account of the subject. He says, that, besides the blood- 

 vessels, each villus consists of a fine net-work of absorbent 

 vessels, whose orifices may be distinctly recognized ; and that 

 from six to ten of these orifices are sometimes discovered. 



Mascagni, who has published the most extensive work upon 

 the absorbent system that has yet appeared, supposes Lieber- 

 kuhn to have been mistaken, and confirms the description of 

 Hewson : but he also agrees with Hewson in his opinion of the 

 general accuracy of Lieberkuhn. 



Notwithstanding their differences respecting the origin of 



* See ftewson's Experimental Inquiries, vol. 2, page 171. 



