SECTION VII 

 THE DUCTLESS GLANDS, KIDNEYS AND PELVIC ORGANS 



THE Ductless Glands are a number of organs in different 

 parts of the body, which, as their name implies, have no ducts, 

 but pour their "internal secretion" direct into the vascular 

 system. The principal ones are the lymphatic glands, the thy- 

 roid gland, suprarenal capsules, and spleen. 



The Thyroid Gland is a very vascular structure situated at the 

 upper end of the trachea, and extending upwards on the sides of 

 the larynx. It consists of three parts, two lateral lobes joined 

 in the middle line by the body. It is always relatively larger in 

 the female and child than in the male. 



The lateral lobe is triangular in shape, the base extends as 

 far down as the fifth or sixth ring of the trachea, and the apex 

 reaches up to the side of the thyroid cartilage. It is covered 

 by some of the infrahyoid muscles and the sterno-mastoid 

 muscle, and posteriorly it touches the oesophagus and common 

 carotid artery. 



The body is a narrow band uniting the lower ends of the 

 lateral lobes and lying on the second and third rings of the 

 trachea. 



The Spleen is one of the abdominal organs, but not connected 

 with digestion. It is the largest of the ductless glands. 



It lies in the left hypochondrium in the mid-axillary line reach- 

 ing from the upper border of the ninth rib to the upper border 

 of the twelfth, its long axis being in the same direction as that 

 of the tenth rib. It has an irregular shape. The outer surface 

 is convex and more or less oval, and closely applied to the dia- 

 phragm which separates it from the ribs. The visceral surface 

 is divided into three parts by ridges, which join to form a more 



127 



