448' MR. F. E. BEDDARD OX THE [Mar. 15, 



worthy also that the entiy of the veins into the liver is not 

 coincident ; the right epigastric enters that organ a considei-able 

 distance behind the entry of the left vein. Furthermore, each is 

 associated with its own liver-lobe, right or left, though the point 

 of entry into the same is only just right or left, as the case may 

 be, of the median sulcus. In the larger specimen of Varanus the 

 arrangement of these veins is slightly difierent in that the right 

 epigastric enters the liver anteriorly to the left. Both veins, the 

 right and the left, are continued forwards as well as backwards. 

 On the left side I have ascertained that the anterior prolongation 

 of the epigastric joins the mammary branch of the left jugular at 

 a considerable distance from the heai't. This branch seems to me 

 to be quite comparable with the similar vein in Tiliqua (see p. 445), 

 which ai'ises, as I thought, from the jugulars and independently 

 enters the liver ; the main difference being that in Varanus the 

 vein is double throughout, that it does not immediately underlie 

 the skin for the greater part of its course, and that it fuses witli 

 the epigastric instead of entering the liver separately. Or this 

 vessel in Tiliqua may be homologous with the single hepato- 

 parietal ventral of Varanus, which I describe below. The 

 epigastric of the left side, at any I'ate, gives off a branch to the 

 fat-body of that side before joining the femoi-al vein. 



Lateral Abdominal veins. — Occupying the same position as the 

 corresponding vein of Tiliqua, the lateral abdominal veins of 

 Varan/us have somewhat difierent relations. There were further- 

 more difi'erences in the two individuals which I dissected*. In the 

 first place, the vein is more complete anteriorly than posteriorly, 

 while in Tiliqua and Iguana the reverse is the case. In the latter 

 the vein arises from the leg vein and runs forward for a varying 

 distance. In Varanus the vein does not appear to be connected with 

 the veins of the hind limb, but it is connected with veins in the 

 anterior region of the body. It arises anteriorly from the jugular 

 in common with the mammary vein and branch of epigastric. 

 In one specimen there is a second branch from the jugular rather 

 nearer to the heart. In this specimen, however, there is not a 

 plain superficial connection between the lateral vessel arising from 

 the two branches of the jugular. However, the vessel passes 

 backwards, and after its second origin receives a branch from the 

 lung. It ends posteriorly in the suprarenal vessels, as has been 

 described in considering these veins. I thus confirm Hochstetter 

 in denying the existence of an anastomosis between this vein and 

 the anterior abdominals postei-iorly. 



Dorsal Hepato-parietal veiyis. — As in Tiliqua, there is but one 

 vein, that of the right side. It either emerges from the parietes 

 just below the point whei'e it enters the liver or has a short 

 superficial course, emerging rather further forwards ; it gives ofi' 

 no branches to the left side such as are found in Tiliqua. 



*■ Both specimens were entered on the books of the Society as belonging to the 

 same species, viz. Varanus cirisetis. I can find no reason from external charaetfrs 

 for criticising this identification. 



