139 



October 25, 1831. 

 Joseph Cox Cox, Esq. in the Chair. 



Mr. Owen read a portion of his notes on the anatomy of a Cro- 

 codile (Croc. aciitus,Cuv.), made during the dissection of a young 

 individual which had lately died at the gardens of the Society. 



Before speaking of the internal anatomy, he alluded to the pecu- 

 liar structure of the tongue andjhuces, which he described as es- 

 sentially agreeing with that of the same parts in the Egyptian Cro- 

 codile. He explained the uses of the apparent closure ofthejhuces, 

 in which, on looking into the mouth, no orifice or passage for the 

 food is perceptible ; and remarked on the necessity for so com- 

 plete a safeguard of the larynx in an animal breathing air, but de- 

 stroying its living prey by submersion in water. 



He then proceeded to the description of the viscera, and com- 

 menced by remarking on the singular disposition of the serous 

 membranes of the. body in the Crocodiles ; a disposition which he has 

 observed in no other animal, and which is such as to resemble the 

 effects of a general inflammatory action. It is, however, normal, 

 and has been observed by him in three individuals of the Croco' 

 dilus Lucius and Croc, acutus. 



"The serous membrane analogous to peritoneum is reflected 

 from the abdominal parietes upon the under surface of the sto- 

 mach, to the right of which it partially surrounds the gall-bladder, 

 and is continued upon the inferior surface of the right lobe of 

 the liver ; from these parts it descends, enveloping the spleen and 

 covering the anterior part of the kidneys and testes, and being con- 

 tinued from the middle line of the abdomen, surrounds the intes- 

 tines in the usual manner, forming a rather loose mesentery : thus 

 the abdomen appears to contain only the intestines, gall-bladder, 

 spleen, kidneys, and genital glands. The serous membrane which 

 covers the upper surface of the stomach is reflected upon the under 

 surface of the left lobe of the liver, and forms a distinct cavity con- 

 fined to these parts. Along the line of the stomach, where the 

 superior and inferior serous membranes are contiguous, a quantity 

 of fat is interposed, together with the principal vessels of the sto- 

 mach, analogous to the omentum. The serous membranes analo- 

 gous to the pieurcE, after lining the sides of the chest, entirely sur- 

 round the lungs, and are reflected on each side upon the superior 

 and lateral aspects of the liver, a process dipping down between 

 the lung and the liver, but forming only a partial septum, and ter- 

 minating in a concave edge towards the back. On each side 

 of the pericardium there is also a distinct serous membrane, which 

 is reflected from the lower part of that bag upon the mesial aspect 

 of the liver: so that, including ihe pericardiuyn itself, there are no 

 less than seven distinct serous membranes in the trunk of the Cro- 



