62 STUDIES IN COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. 



It will be of interest to give here some passages from a letter of Dr 

 William Ogle, in which are quoted the first extant accounts of the 

 anatomy of the elephant. The description of the generative organs 

 seems to imply actual dissection by some ancient anatomist. 



" Aristotle most probably, as I think, never saw an elephant him- 

 self, but the following passages from his Historia Animalium show 

 that even at that early time some one or other either had or professed 

 to have examined the inside of one. 



" II. 17. ' The elephant's intestine is formed of parts so put together 

 as to give the appearance of there being four stomachs. Its viscera 

 resemble those of the hog, but are of course much larger. The 

 liver, for instance, is four times as large as that of an ox. The 

 spleen, however, is of small size, considering the large bulk of the 

 animal.' 



"II. 1. 'The penis of the elephant is like that of the horse, but 

 small considering the animal's bulk. The testes are not visible ex- 

 ternally, but are placed inside, near the kidneys. The pudendum of 

 the female is placed in the position which in ewes is occupied by the 

 dugs, but for congress is dra^vn upwards and directed outwards, so as 

 to facilitate the action of the male. It has naturally a wide orifice.' " 



FEMALE GEI^ERATIVE OEGANS. 



Ovary. 



The ovary in our young example was about one-third larger 

 than in the adult human female, deeply corrugated on the 

 surface, and of a flattish oval figure. Many immature Graafian 

 follicles were distinguished.^ 



Fallopian Tubes. 



The commencement of each Fallopian tube lies within a some- 

 what capacious pouch, which holds 3^ ounces of water when 

 distended. The fimbriee expand over the membranous walls of 

 the pouch, and project as ridges from the inner surface. The 

 outer surface is covered with peritoneum. Scattered muscular 

 fibres (unstriped), together with vessels and nerves, lie in the 

 membrane. The ovary lies, not in the fimbriated pouch itself, 

 which directly communicates with the Fallopian tube, but in a 



^ Mayer describes the outer surface as smooth " and only provided Avith lobes 

 (Lappchen) at its point of attachment." He says, further, that there are no 

 projecting Graafian follicles. 



