452 



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Jackson's Anatomical Description 



twice the length of the small. In the female, they were 



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m 



more than seven and a half times as long as the body of the 

 animal, the proportionate difference being much greater 

 than we should expect to find between two Individuals of 

 the same species ; the length of the small intestine was 

 eight and a half feet, of the large thirteen and a half feet ; 



i r 



this last, it need hardly be said, takes numerous turns in- 

 stead of going nearly straight to the vent as stated by 



(A 



The small intes- 



tine is of an uniform size from the pylorus to the coecal 

 valve, measuring seven inches transversely when cut 

 open ; just beyond its commencement the large intestine 

 is from ten to eleven inches, afterwards diminishing to 

 five, but increasing again to seven in the rectum, and m 

 the cloaca to nine inches. According to Cuvier^ the large 

 intestine is four times as large as the small. 



The mucous membrane is thin; In the upper part of the 

 small intestine it has a reticulated appearance, in which 

 respect, as well as in their muscularity, the intestines 

 resemble those of the common green turtle ; it afterwards 

 became more lax, and the appearance just noticed passed 



by imperceptible degrees 



mto 



fine longitudinal folds, 



which insensibly disappeared, and the lower portion of 

 the small intestine and the whole of the large was smooth 

 and polished, except the rectum in which were found 

 once more the longitudinal folds, but not strongly marked 

 as they have sometimes been described. In a small tor- 



A 



toise of the same species, procured for the Society by 

 Dr. Charles T. Jackson, isolated mucous follicles were 

 observed about the termination of the small, and the two 

 extremities of the large intestine, but nothing of the kind 

 was seen in either of the large ones. The muscular coat 

 of the small intestine was one line in thickness at the two 



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