336 MR. F. E. BEDDARD ON THE [Feb. 16, 



Renal Arteries. — The anterior (right) kidney commences at a 

 point about opposite to the middle of the posterior testis. That 

 it is the right kidney seems to be sho^^al by the fact that the 

 renal arteries supplying it ai-ise from the right side of the aorta. 

 It ends about an inch befoi-e the termination of the posterior 

 kidney, and is therefore much longer than it. The first i-enal 

 artery arises from the aorta between the first and second of the 

 testicular ai-teries ; after this follow seven artei-ies, Avhich do not 

 ai'ise at i-egular intervals from each other nor opposite to the 

 corresponding branches to the left kidney. The arteries of 

 the left kidney are at any rate eight in number, so that there 

 must be at least a fairly accurate correspondence in the blood- 

 supply of the two kidneys, though I am unwilling to state that it 

 is absolutely accurate. 



Testicular and Sujwa-renal Branches. — The anterior testis is 

 supplied by only a single arter}^, which is slender and arises from 

 the aorta opjDOsite to about the middle of the testis. It divides at 

 once, on reaching the neighbotirhood of the testis, into two 

 branches, one of which runs forwards and the other backwaixls ; 

 the former is the testicular artery, the latter becomes a longi- 

 tudinal and very slender vessel which runs along the supra-renal 

 body and vas deferens and is joined by other ai-terioles arising 

 from the aorta. It gives off, howevei-, first of all a branch to the 

 fat-body which has been already referred to. Whether it also 

 gives off small branches to the testis I do not know. This longi- 

 tudinal artery i-eceives four branches from the aoi'ta, and then 

 joins the main artery to the fat-body, which latter arises from the 

 aorta just behind the oi-igin of the first rectal artei-y [cf. p. 335). 

 On the opposite side it is continued on by a branch ai-ising fi-om 

 this same arteiy. It is reinforced by a twig arising fi-om the aorta 

 near to the inferioi- mesenteric and by a small twig beyond this. 

 This longitudinal artery has nothing to do with the blood- supply 

 of the posterior testis, but passes underneath the arteries Avhich 

 i-un to the latter from the aorta. The blood-supply of the 

 posterior testis is much like that of the anterior genei'ative gland, 

 but with some differences. As with the fprmer gonad, thi-ee 

 arterioles arise from the aorta in the region of the posterior testis 

 and join a longitudinal vessel ending anteriorly ; this longitudinal 

 vessel receives a branch fi'om the tu)i-ta just in fi-ont of the second 

 rectal aiteiy, and itself ends in the fat-body artery which comes 

 off from the aoi-ta just behind this rectal aitery. The longitudinal 

 vessel is, howevei-, continued by bi'anches of both the two divisions 

 of the fat-body ai-tei'V as well as fi-om a twig ai-ising from the 

 longitudinal artery in front of the testis. There is, indeed, a kind 

 of rete miiubile among these vai-ious small tAvigs. At the com- 

 mencement of the kidneys both of the longitudinal artei-ies 

 accompanying the vasa defei-entia end in the longitudinal ti-unks 

 of the kidneys. From this point, or rather from these points, 

 onwai'ds the vasa defei'entia are supplied by branches of the 

 kidney- vessels. Cori-esponding to the bi-anch which arises from 



