CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



AT WOODS HOLE, M\sv 



THE BLOOD-VASCULAR SYSTEM OF THE TILE-FISH, LOPHOLATILUS 



CHAM^LEONTICEPS. 



By C. F. SILVESTER, 

 Curator of the Morphological Museum and Assistant in . Inatomy, Princeton I diversify. 



INTRODUCTION. 



In the following pages an effort has been made to present a fairly complete list 

 as well as description of the blood vessels of Lopholatilus ch/miseleonticeps, with the 

 hope that the results may serve as a basis for comparison with the blood vessel- of 

 other teleosts. Fifteen tile-fish were dissected, 11 for the arterial and 1 for the 

 venous system. For purposes of comparison the arterial systems of 20 other teleosts 

 also were examined, and many of them are figured in the present paper. 



Since it has frequently been found difficult successfully to inject the blood vessels 

 of teleosts, the method adopted* by the writer, which has proved most satisfactory . 

 may be mentioned: The best French gelatin, after being soaked for from five to ten 

 hours in cold water, is rinsed and drained for a short time in order to get rid of the 

 excess of water, then heated, and a 20 per cent glycerin solution stirred in until the 

 whole possesses the consistency of cream. The coloring mass, either vermilion or 

 insoluble Prussian blue, is then added. The arteries are usually injected from a 

 branch of the cceliacomesenteric, the veins from one of the tributaries of the portal 

 vein and the genital or caudal vein. In order to make a successful injection the 

 specimen must be cold and the injection mass heated to about 39 C, or even warmer. 

 After the injection the specimen should be plunged into cold water to facilitate the 

 hardening of the gelatin. Injected specimens are preserved, as a rule, in a .~> per 

 cent formalin solution. 



The material for the subject under consideration was collected under I he auspices 

 of the United States Fish Commission at 'Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and I take 

 this opportunity of expressing my thanks to Dr. 11. C. Bumpus and Dr. II. M. Smith 

 for their kind assistance in connection with this portion of the work. It is with 

 pleasure that 1 acknowledge also my deep indebtedness to Prof. C. F. W. McClure 

 for much valuable assistance throughout the research. 



THE HEART. 



The heart of Lopholatilus chamseleonticeps is similar in position and form to that 

 of many other teleosts. It lies in the pericardial cavity between the two clavicles, just 

 dorsal to the basipterygium and ventral to the oesophagus and first two or three verte- 

 brae. Its chambers consist of a sinus venosus, an auricle, and a ventricle. The sinus 

 is a transversely placed, thin-walled, tubular chamber, into which the Cuvierian ducts 



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