1904.] CIUCULATORY SYSTEM IX THE orniDiA. 867 



practically in contact with the pericardium. At the opposite 

 extremity it ends but a very short way in front of the gall-bladder. 

 The blood-supply of the oesophagus, stomach, and liver is there- 

 fore rather difierent to that of some other snakes. There are, as 

 is usual, series of hepato-oesophagecd, hepato- gastric, and gastric 

 vessels. No arteries, however, supply the liver only to the 

 exclusion of other organs. Altogether the liver is supplied by 

 nine vessels, of which the last two are the largest and run longi- 

 tudinally and superficially for some distance. The last of these 

 arteries is very nearly converted into an independent trunk, for 

 the gastric bi'anch is given off immediately after the oiigin of the 

 combined trunk. Between this hepatic vessel and the next one 



Esophageal and hepatic arteries ot' La diesis gramincn.';. 

 ^0., aorta; Ao.', left aortic ai-ch ; L., liver; ce., oesophagus. 



in front three arteries arise from the aorta, which only supply the 

 alimentary canal and send no branch to the liver. In front of 

 this again are seven branches of the aorta which supply both liver 

 and gut. The two anterioi- of these at any rate arise from the 

 left aorta before its union with the right. Apart from these 

 trunks already mentioned, which lie between the last two hepatic 

 arteries, there is only a single gastric arteiy, which arises from 

 the aorta some little way behind the last gastro- hepatic. 



The superior viesenteric artery presents no remarkable features. 

 The arteries of the posterior part of the intestine arise in irregular 

 alternation with the arteries to the oviducts, ovaries, and kidneys. 

 A more exact description of some of these arteries is as follows : — 

 The first , artery after the superior mesenteric is that to the 

 anterior (and in my specimen not fully developed) ovary. After 

 this arises the posterior mesenteric and, after a gap, two other 

 intestinal arteries ; between the last of these and , the third 

 intestinal artery are two slender oviducal arteries. Then follows 

 the artery of the posterior ovary (which was full of mature ova). 

 Immediately after this are five oviducal arteries supplying its 

 ovidnct, and on the opposite side an oviducal artery belonging to 

 the other oviduct, the first renal arterv and the first of a rectal 



