^84 COMPARATIVE SPLANCHNOLOGY. 



Is the possession of two uteri, each uterus opening into the vagina by a 

 distinct orifice ; the two are near together posteriorly, and anterially they 

 diverge. The vulva has both major and minor labia, and the clitoris is large 

 and very prominent. 



** The following principal forms of uterus are found in the mammalia : — 

 The simple uterus (uterus simplex), in woman and the monkey ; the tivo-horned 

 tiierus (uterus bicornis), in the mare and ruminant; the bifurcated uterus 

 (uterus divisus), in the sow and carnivora ; and the double uterus (uterus duplex), 

 in the rodent." — France. 



Tor many reasons, this part of the subject is interesting, but very little space 

 can be given here to its discussion. 



Birds have no teeth, the maxillse being covered anteriorly, on the outside, 

 "by a homy modification of the integument, the Whole constituting the 

 rostrum or beak. The tongue is horny in structure, and apparently an organ 

 of prehension, not of taste. The oesophagus is v6ry long, and its longi- 

 tudinal muscular coat, is internal, the circular extemaL In seed-eatina 

 "birds, the oesophagus expands in the cervical region into the ingluvics^ or 

 crop,— a large sac which rests upon the fascia connecting the clavicles, and in 

 "which maceration of the food is carried on. The oesophagus is then con- 

 tinued and expanded into the first cavity of the stomach, i)iQ proventriculus^ a 

 Tery vascular and glandular cavity, where a fluid analogous to the gastric 

 juice is secreted. To this portion succeeds the second or muscular cavity, 

 the gizzard, which is oval and flattened in shape, but with a structure vary- 

 ing according to the nature of the animal's food. In granivorous or seed- 

 eating birds, the muscular coat possesses extraordinary thickness and strength, 

 while the lining membrane exhibits a dense, horny, epithelial structure. 

 In the upper portion are two orifices, a large one opening into the proven- 

 triculus, and just to the right of this a smaller pyloric orifice opening into the 

 duodenum. All the domesticated birds possess a gizzard similar to this, but 

 in those birds which feed naturally on flesh, the wails of the' gizzard are mem- 

 "branous in their thinness, the development of the organ being usually 

 correlated with the size of the ingluvies. 



Granivorous birds always s\7allow a quantity of stones or sand, which is 

 deposited in the gizzard, and with the action of the muscular wall and horny 

 lining, assists in grinding the ingesta to a pulp. Thus the gizzard may be 

 viewed as an organ of mastication. 



The intestines are very much shorter than in the mammalia, the layers of 

 muscular fibre being inversely arranged, as in the ORsophagus. There are two 

 separate cwca, long and narrow, with their blind ends directed forwards. The 

 duodenum forms a loop or bend near its origin, embracing the pancreas ; the 

 Test of the small intestine is suspended by a mesentery. The large intestine is 

 very 'ihort, running straight from the cssca to the termination of the canal ; it 

 is commonly termed the rectum, and it opens into a cavity called the cloaca^ 

 an excretory recess, common to the alimentary, urinary, and genital organs. 



The pancreas usually consists of two distinct pieces, and its ducts are two in 

 number, opening separately into the duodenal loop. The liver is very large, 

 and as the diaphragm is rudimentary, it can hardly be regarded as a pure 



