476 MR. F. E. BEDDARD ON THE | Nov. 28, 
with a second epigastric vein, which, running parallel to and above 
the anterior abdominal, enters the shelter of the liver at its end 
close to the anterior abdominal and joins that vein under the 
lower surface of the right lobe before it loses itself in the substance 
of the liver. The disposition of these veins will be obvious from 
an inspection of text-fig. 64. 
Renal Portal Veins.—In addition to the veins from the tail which 
bring blood to the kidneys, these glands are also supplied with 
blood from the parietes in their immediate neighbourhood. A 
series of vessels (see text-fig. 65) arises from the body-walls and 
plunges into the substance of the kidney on either side. These 
vessels were for the most part partly injected in the specimen at 
my disposal and can therefore be accurately mapped. The perito- 
neum in this region of the body as elsewhere is densely pigmented. 
But the difficulty of seeing through it is removed by the fact that 
it is very loosely attached to the parietes and to the kidneys, which 
lie, of course, behind it. When it is carefully removed the veins in 
question are very plainly exposed. They arise from the parietes 
very laterally—that is, not at all close to the median dorsal line, 
whence such vessels ordinarily arise in Lizards. Originally they 
appear to have been accurately segmental, one arising from each 
segment as denoted by a rib. In point of fact, however, the vessels 
belonging to two or to three ribs occasionally unite before opening 
into the kidney. It is also to be noted that the veins in question 
pour their contents into the kidney at different levels. Some 
vessels enter the kidney along its outer edge, while others plunge 
into its substance more dorsally. This arrangement is roughly 
alternate. There were six of these vessels to each kidney, but 
their distribution was not exactly the same on both sides of the 
body. These vessels do not appear to be referred to by Hoch- 
stetter, though he mentions them in Angwis fragilis. I have 
noticed them in other Lizards, where possibly they are represented 
by the veins from the hind limbs. In any case they are very 
conspicuous and impossible to miss in Ophisaurus, and their 
arrangement is somewhat different from that which characterises 
Anguis. 
It is furthermore to be noted that those veins which enter the 
kidney more dorsally join in each case one of another series of 
afferent renals. I counted three of these on the right side, which 
emerge from the parietes very close to the dorsal middle line. 
They are rather stouter vessels, and run over the dorsal surface 
of the kidney nearly to the outer edge of that gland before 
plunging into its substance. All these parieto-renal vessels 
become lost in the substance of the kidney. There is no super- 
ficially running trunk continuous with the caudal vein posteriorly 
into which they open. Nor can they be traced into direct and 
superficial connection with the efferent renal veins. 
Supra-renal Portal Veins —These important veins are naturally 
referred to by Hochstetter, who has done so much towards the 
elucidation of this as of other venous systems in the Lacertilia. I 
