APPENDIX. 289 



called the gastric juice, which is the agent in reducing the 

 food to a fluid, called chyle : this, however, is accomplished by 

 the united agency of the bile and pancreatic juice ; both these 

 fluids are conveyed into the abomasum by means of small tubes 

 or canals. The nutritious portion of the food is taken up by 

 the lacteals and absorbents, (in the same manner as we have 

 already described in the horse ;) it then passes on to the tho- 

 racic duct, and enters the circulation. The feculent matter 

 passes along the intestines, accumulates in the rectum, and is 

 voided at the will of the animal. 



The spleen or melt, is an oblong, dark-colored substance, 

 attached to the paunch. It is composed of blood-vessels, 

 lymphatics, and nerves, united by cellular membrane. It ap- 

 pears to serve as a reservoir for the blood that may be designed 

 for the secretion of bile in the liver. 



The liver is a dense gland, composed of two lobes, situated 

 below the diaphragm, or skirt, extending to the right side. 

 There is a large vein enters the liver, called vena po?~ta, or 

 gate vein. The blood that passes from the intestines, instead 

 of returning directly to the heart, accumulates in the vena 

 porta ; the latter ramifies into innumerable small vessels, 

 through the substance of the liver, from which the bile is 

 secreted ; the blood then passes on to the heart. 



The bile, having been secreted from the blood, accumulates 

 in the gall bladder, where it is kept for future use. When 

 the healthy action of the fourth stomach is interrupted, the 

 bile is supposed to be reabsorbed, enters the circulation, and 

 invariably produces yellowness of the eyes ; the disease is 

 then termed yellows, jaundice, &c. Sometimes the passage 

 of the bile into the fourth stomach is obstructed by calculi, 

 or gall-stones ; they have been found in great numbers in 

 oxen. 



The pancreas is composed of a number of lobules, or glands ; 

 a small duct proceeds from each ; they unite and form a com- 

 mon canal, which proceeds towards, and terminates in. the 

 fourth stomach, where it assists m the process of digestion, as 

 already stated. 



37 



