CHAP. II.] THE BLOOD, HOW MADE. 141 



ready escape of the food, there is placed along the 

 whole length of the depression, between the folds 

 of the gut, a white vessel having numerous branches 

 full of nutritious juice, making its way towards the 

 fore-part of the animal. See the figure at page 14. 

 This is the lacteal duct, which, from its situation 

 between the folds, formed by the mesentery, is by 

 some termed " the mesenteric canal," and by and by 

 (in Gibson) " the mesenteric artery." Merscolon and 

 mersrectum being the names of parts which usually 

 merge in the general term " mesentery' for the 

 whole, we have made no distinction. But all this 

 does not signify so much as the manner in which 

 this duct gets filled at first by the lacteals, how it 

 constantly flows in health, or is obstructed in dis- 

 ease, and what is the mode and the effect of dis- 

 charging its contents near the heart, as before 

 alluded to in section 37, second paragraph, as well 

 as just below, in section 51. Herein may be found 

 much matter for pleasing reflection and study, by 

 him who aspires after obtaining a more accurate 

 knowledge of the curative art than is- generally 

 possessed ; and to attain to perfection wherein, he 

 must study the thing itself by inspection, since 

 nothing we can find room to set down here can give 

 him any thing like an adequate notion of its import- 

 ance ; nor, indeed, was it ever our intention to em- 

 ploy strict anatomical description, or to enter into 

 learned definitions, any farther than should be found 

 necessary to illustrate what we have to teach, re- 

 specting diseases in general, and some long-standing 



