1904.] CIRCULATORY SYSTEM IX THE OPHIDIA. 349 



transverse trunks with the fat-body ; posteriorly to the ovum the 

 longitudinal arteiy of the fat-body is fed by branches of the ovi- 

 ducal artery. It is important to notice that anterioily the three 

 longitudinal arteries, which have just been referred to, spring 

 from separate branches of the superior mesenteric*. What should 

 be, so to speak, the ovarian artery is, as usual, the first artery after 

 the superior mesenteric to spring from the aorta. The arrange- 

 ment of the arteries and veins in this region of the body is illus- 

 trated in the accompanying drawing (text-fig. 68, p. 348). The 

 ovarian artery, as we must call it, runs straight towards the middle 

 of the suprarenal body. Arrived at the edge of that body it 

 divides into two branches, of which the anterior forms the longi- 

 tudinal vessel of the ovary and almost immediately gives off a stout 

 branch to the fat-body. The posterior branch supplies the oviduct, 

 to which it gives off four branches, of which, as has been already 

 mentioned, the first is the stoutest. The next visceral artery to 

 arise from the aorta is the oviducal artery — of coui'se, of the anterior 

 oviduct. It passes slightly backwards after its origin and then runs 

 forward to near the last of the oviducal branches of the ovarian 

 artery ; it then gives off a' minute branch which is continuovis 

 with the longitudinal system of the ovary and bends sharply back 

 pursuing a, posteiior course. Immediately after bending it gives off 

 an artery to the fat-body, at least another arteriole to the ovarian 

 longitudinal artery, and divides into two equally sized oviducal 

 branches. Nearer to its point of oi-igin from the aorta, the ovi- 

 ducal artery gives off two branches to the more posterioi- region 

 of the oviduct. The first of these gives off an artery to the fat- 

 body before dividing into two bi-anches ; the second does not give 

 off such an artery. After the oviducal artery the aorta gives off 

 two vessels situated exactly opposite to each other. 



The right-hand one of these runs parallel with the oviducal 

 artery and actually emits one or two arterioles which convey 

 blood to the oviduct. The main trunk, however, supplies the fat- 

 body. There are other trunks supplying the anterior oviduct 

 which will be dealt with in the order of their origin from the 

 aorta t. The next trunk to be considered is the second ovarian 

 artery. This artery in many ways repeats the conditions observ- 

 able in the anterior ovarian artery. It arises from the aorta 

 exactly opposite to the fat-body artery just described, than which 

 it is of course much stouter. Arrived at the edge of the supra- 

 renal body it divides into an anterior and posterior trunk ; the 

 former is the longitudinally running ovarian artery which gives 

 off numerous small branches to the ovary itself, as well as a 

 number of large trunks to the oviduct. The posterior branch 

 repeats almost exactly the conditions observable in the oviduct of 

 the anterior ovary. It gives off one branch immediately, which 

 is soon followed by three others ; there are thus four in all, as with 

 the anterior oviduct. The main difference is that none of these 



* See the description of that arterj--, p. 347. 



t In connection with the renal arteries : see p. 350. 



