The Anatomy of Chlamydoselachus 



401 



DIGESTIVE SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED 

 ORGANS 



There are few published descriptions of the di' 

 gestive organs of Chldmydoselachus, and these accounts 

 are very brief. This situation may be due, in part, to 

 the circumstance that most of the specimens that have 

 come into the hands of anatomists had been eviscer^ 

 ated. The following account is based mainly on my 

 studies and drawings of material in the collection of 

 the American Museum of Natural History, but it in' 

 eludes a review of the work of other investigators. 



My material includes the three large female speci' 

 mens whose external characteristics have been fully 

 described by Gudger and Smith (1933). In all these 

 specimens, the body cavity had been opened by a 

 ventral longitudinal incision and the digestive tube 

 had been split open along its length. Thus it was not 

 possible to view the digestive organs in an undisturbed 

 condition. In two specimens, the liver was nearly all 

 missing and the mesenteries had been much torn. The 

 best'preserved specimen. No. I, had all the digestive 

 organs, also the spleen, complete; but the mesenteries 

 were considerably torn. Another large female speci- 

 men, kindly lent by Dr. E. Grace White, was used 

 here only for the study of the thyroid, since the di' 

 gestive organs had been removed. I shall call this 

 specimen No. IV. 



THE DIGESTIVE TUBE 



Before proceeding with a description of the vari' 

 ous parts of the digestive system, it is advisable to 

 call attention to Text'figure 72, drawn from specimen 

 No. I, wherein each part of the digestive system, ex' 

 cepting mouth and pharynx, is drawn to scale in its 

 approximate relation to the whole. In order to dis' 

 play certain organs to the best advantage, the natural 

 position has in some instances been altered. Thus the 

 lobes of the liver have been drawn aside, the cardiac 

 stomach has been turned to the left in order to bring 



Text-figure 72. 

 The digestive system of Chlamydo- 

 selachus, ventral aspect, about one-fifth 

 natural size. 



h.e., bursa entiana; c, colon; c.b.d., common bile 

 duct; C.S., cardiac stomach; d.mes., dorsal 

 mesentery; d.p., dorsal pancreas; es., esophagus; 

 g.b., gall bladder; !.!., left lobe of liver; py., 

 pylorus; py.ves., pyloric vestibule; r., rectum; 

 r.g., rectal gland; r.!., right lobe of liver; sp.l, 

 spleen; sp.2, accessory spleen; v.i., valvular 

 intestine; v.mes., ventral mesentery; v. p., 



ventral pancreas. 



Drawn from specimen No. I in the collection of 



the American Museum of Natural History. 



