512 MR. F. E, BEDDARD ON THE (Apr, 27, 
The lumbar parietal vein of one side at any rate emerged from 
the parietes in a plexus form and entered the right half of the post- 
caval some distance below the entrance of the renal of the opposite 
side of the body and a fortiori below the entrance of the renal of 
its own side of the body. The left suprarenal vein is formed of 
three principal twigs which leave the suprarenal body ; it enters 
the postcaval in front of the entrance of the left renal and not in 
common with that vein. It is therefore to be noted that in this 
animal the suprarenal and ovarian veins do not lie in the same 
straight line and present the appearance of being portions of 
the same original vein (the left posterior cardinal) as they do 
in various Marsupials. Although I am of my own knowledge 
unable to do more than state that one of the two examples of 
Erinaceus europeus which I dissected showed the divided post- 
caval characteristic of the Edentates, Monotremes, &c., the con- 
ditions which actually obtain in such a specimen with a divided 
postcaval have been figured and described by Hochstetter *. 
This figure shows that the arrangement of the veins in Hrinaceus 
1s In some respects different from that which I have described and 
here figure in Centetes (see text-fig. 136 A, p. 508). They both 
agree, however, in that the division of the postcaval extends further 
forward than in the Armadillos. The postcaval is formed of two 
veins in both species up to a point just anterior to the opening 
into it of the right (and anterior) of the two renals. There 
appears, moreover, to be a junction between the two halves of the 
postcaval in Hrinaceus corresponding to the posterior of the two 
transverse trunks of Centetes. Otherwise one is struck rather 
by the differences than by the points of likeness which the post- 
caval venous systems in these two types show to each other. 
The kidneys and their veins are more symmetrical in Hrinaceus. 
From the left renal arises only a single vein, which is the ovarian 
of Centetes. It is unaccompanied in Hrinaceus by a second vein 
coursing along the ureter. Moreover, this vein in Hrinaceus 
anastomoses with a posterior ovarian vein as in the genus Dasy- 
urus (im some specimens). The condition is, in fact, more 
“‘ Marsupial” than is that of Centetes. On the right side there 
is no symmetry in the ovarian vein. It flows into the postcaval 
vein of its side, and not into the renal asin Centetes. It, however, 
joins the other ovarian vein below. It is to be noted that this 
example of Hrinacews, which Hochstetter speaks of as “‘abnormal” 
in the disposition of the postcaval vein, agrees in this last particular 
with a specimen of Hrinaceus algirus examined by myself and 
reported upon in the present communication. For in the latter 
example the ovarian veins show precisely the same asymmetry. 
It is clear from the additional facts which I am able to bring 
forward in this paper, that the postcaval venous system of the 
Insectivora has not so completely rid itself of its primitive paired 
character as it has in the Carnivora, where apparently only vestiges 
* Morph. Jahrb. Bd. xx. 1893, Taf, xxiii, fig. 24. 
