VOL. LXXXVI.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 37 



of the animal having been 2 years in spirits, was very unfavourable for their exami- 

 nation. The omentum is a thin reticular membranous double bag, covering the 

 whole of the intestines ; it is attached anteriorly to the great curvature of the sto- 

 mach, but not to the duodenum ; posteriorly to the loins. 



The liver is made up of 5 lobes, besides the lobulus Spigelii ; 3 on the right of 

 the falciform ligament, 2 on the left. The gall-bladder is found in the usual situ- 

 ation, is bent in the middle upon itself, and is 6 inches long. The cystic and he- 

 patic ducts unite at the external surface of the duodenum, forming a common canal, 

 or ductus communis choledochus, about 14 inch long, of an oval shape, with an 

 irregularly rugous internal surface, placed between the muscular coat and the in- 

 ternal membrane of the intestine ; it opens into the duodenum by a projecting 

 orifice 2-fr inches from the pylorus. The vena portarum is very large, and the pas- 

 sage behind the ducts of the liver into the cavity of the little epiploon is also large, 

 The pancreas is situated across the spine behind the stomach, it is not confined 

 within the usual limits, but extends along the posterior membrane of the omentum. 

 It is sub-divided into a number of small parts, of an oval shape, all at a certain dis- 

 tance from each other, united by blood-vessels resembling small leaves on the branch 

 of a shrub. The little pancreas puts on the same appearance, covering the whole 

 meso-duodenum, which is unusually broad. The duct of the pancreas is of the 

 ordinary size, it opens into the duodenum by a separate orifice ]i inch from the 

 pylorus. In the common otter the pancreas has not this unusual sub-divided ap- 

 pearance, and the duct opens by a common orifice with those of the liver into the 

 duodenum. 



The receptaculum chyli is an oval bag, 4. of an inch broad, from which 2 

 trunks go off to form the thoracic duct, each of them about -£th of an inch in dia- 

 meter ; these anastomose frequently in their course, so that there are always 2, 

 sometimes 3, and even 4 trunks, running parallel to each other; the thoracic duct 

 is 8 inches in length. The kidneys are conglomerated, 6 inches long, and 3 broad. 

 The urinary bladder is pendulous and pyramidal, and the ureters open into it very 

 near each other at the lower posterior part. The testicles are situated under the 

 external skin on each side of the sheath of the penis, but have no pendulous scro- 

 tum. They are small, flat, and oval. The tunica vaginalis communicates with 

 the cavity of the abdomen. The cremaster muscle is very strong. The -vasa de- 

 ferentia, as they pass behind the bladder, become a little convoluted, and open into 

 the urethra at the caput gallinaginis. The penis, in the relaxed state, is 8 inches 

 long, the bone 6 inches. The corpora cavernosa are small, but strong in their 

 coats. The bone near its anterior end appears to be covered with a quantity of 

 loose cellular substance ; this in the erected state is filled with blood, and forms a 

 large glans 6 inches in circumference, and 4 inches long ; its anterior extremity is 

 concave, and the end of the bone is seen in the centre. The penis, when erect, is 

 1 1 inches long. The erectores muscles are very strong. The globe of the eye is 

 extremely small, and the optic nerve is small in the same proportion. Its internal 



