540 THE INTESTINAL CANAL, BY E. KLEIN AND E. VERSON. 



directions. The middle portion of the fibres of the right half 

 of the oesophagus extends uninterruptedly in thick masses along 

 the upper curvature of the stomach ; the remainder radiate 

 upon the anterior and posterior walls of the stomach in slightly 

 diverging fasciculi, arranged in a plexiform manner towards the 

 lower curvature, to which, however, they do not reach. 



From the left half of the oesophagus only delicate fasciculi 

 extend to the upper border of the fundus. Two sets of fas- 

 ciculi attach themselves to the right and left diverging longitu- 

 dinal fibres of the oesophagus, which, slightly curved outwards, 

 and altering their course from the horizontal to the vertical 

 direction, extend over the anterior and posterior surfaces of the 

 stomach. These two sickle-shaped bands of fibres which de- 

 cussate in their course downwards from the cardia upon the 

 anterior and posterior wall of the stomach, are the continua- 

 tions of the circular fibrous layer of the oesophagus. 



The laminated pavement epithelium at the cardia of the DOG 

 is replaced, as in man, by simple columnar epithelium ; the 

 mucous layer becomes thinner at the cardia, since the gland 

 tubes there present gradually increase in size. Consequently 

 the muscularis mucosse, which in the lowermost portions of 

 the oesophagus was situated between the glands for an area 

 of 0*5 millimeter in breadth, becomes more externally placed 

 in order to form a continuous layer at the base of the new 

 series of tubes commencing at the cardia. The acinous 

 glands of the mucous layer of the oesophagus do not cease at 

 the cardia itself, but, becoming at the same time smaller, reach 

 to a distance of three millimeters below the line at which the 

 columnar epithelium of the stomach begins. These are some- 

 times, although rarely, only the lowermost lobules of a gland, 

 the excretory duct of which opens directly at the boundary 

 line between the oesophagus and stomach, so that above the 

 upper wall at the inner end of the excretory duct the lami- 

 nated pavement of the oesophagus ceases, whilst below the 

 lower wall the columnar epithelium of the stomach commences. 

 In other cases two rows of acinous glands are found at the 

 commencement of the cardiac portion, the excretory ducts of 

 which open between the tubes with narrow calibre, that here 

 begin to be developed. 



