562 DR. C. F. SONNTAG ON THE COMPAKATIVE AXATOMY 



aticl forms half of a vascular ring 'encircling the pyloro- duodenal 

 junction. They supply the gastric wall and gland-patch. The 

 pyloro-duodenal ring communicates with the mesenteric arteries, 

 and a twig forms a long arcade (iii) in the great omentum with a 

 branch of the splenic artery; this arch gives off vasa brevia, 

 which enter the stomach- wall vertically (text-fig. 60, B). 



There is no continuous vessel or arcade on the lesser curvature, 

 for the gland-patch interrupts it. 



The veins enter the portal and splenic veins. 



The gastric nerves (text fig. 63, Y.G.P.) form a complex plexus 

 on the left side of the gland-patch, and are intermingled with 

 branches of the gastric arteiy, and fine nerves reach the stomach 

 along branches of the hepatic artery. They will be described 

 later along with the solar plexus and vagus nerves. The nerves 

 reach the interior along the course of the arteries. 



The interior of the stomach (Plate V^L, A) was briefly described ' 

 by Martin (8). Apart from the enumeration of the orifices of 

 the gland-patch by several autliors, no other description of the 

 interior has been published. 



The long axis of the oval gland-patch, which lies along the 

 lesser curvature of the stomach, is 2 cm. long, and the width is 

 1*7 cm. Its inner surface has thirty orifices of different sizes, 

 arranged in rows at right angles to the long axis of the patch. 

 In addition to these the lens reveals how the surface of the patch 

 is finely-pitted. 



The remainder of the inner surface is traversed by rugae 

 I'adiating from ilie edges of the gland-patch like the sjDokes of a 

 wheel. Those running towards the lower end of the oesophagus 

 are short and Y-shaped; those passing into tlie fundus and body 

 of the stomach are at first straight but undulating later ; none 

 are present in the sacculus on the greater curvature; and those 

 passing to the pylorus are few in number, but stronger than in 

 other parts. 



The musculature of the pylorus thins out on the walls of the 

 sacculus, and that of the oesophagus thins out on the fundus and 

 Issser curvature. 



The gastric contents consisted of a viscid creamy chyme, and 

 they resembled the contents of the stomachs of two Langnrs 

 which I examined. In the Sloth, on the other hand, as I showed 

 in a previous paper, the stomach contained many hard, almost 

 entire leaves. 



Special gastric glandular apparatus is also present in the 

 Wombat, Beaver, Dormouse, Manatee, and Dugong. It was also 

 present in the now exteiminated Steller's Sea-Cow [Khytina 

 stelleri). Knox thought that the apparatus in the Sirenia was 

 an electric organ, and traced the two vagus nerves into it. 



The pylorus projects into the duodenum (Plate VI., B), as in 

 Man. The human form has been likened to tlie projection 

 of the cervix uteri into the vagina. The free surface is rough 

 and villous. 



