THE GIANT EARTH-WORM OF GIPPSLAND. a 
Ww n’ ... lateral nerve branches. 
neph ... smaller nephridia. 
neph 1 ... larger nephridia. 
neph 1o  ... internal openings of larger nephridium. 
sept ... septum. : 
sept o --. ventral opening in septum to allow of passage through of 
nerve cord. 
v bu ... ventral blood-vessel. 
Fig. 21.—Somewhat diagrammatic representation of the ventral part of the body 
wall in the hinder region of the body, cut away to show the two kinds of nephridia in 
situ. ‘The body wall is flattened out, and all but the lower portion of the septa cut 
away. In the mid-ventral line is the nerve cord, running through the apertures in 
the septa, and giving off three branches on each side in each segment. Of these, two 
(n'n*) lie near the posterior end, and one (7°) nearly in the middle of the segment. 
The smaller nephridia form a row between the two anterior nerves, and are numerous. 
In each segment is a single pair of large nephridia. These lie in front of the nerve 
branches, and at the same level as the ventral-most amongst the smaller ones. Each 
has a branch passing forward to the septum through which it passes, and opens by a 
ciliated funnel. The smaller ones are devoid of internal openings. 
Fig. 22.—A portion of the dorsal body wall in the hinder part of the clitellar 
region cut away, so as to show the dense mass of small nephridia with which it is 
coated. These are separated into two lots by a median dorsal groove, out of the roof of 
which pass the dorsal pores (d. p.) Each septum is pouched in the median dorsal 
line, so that the dorsal pore lies slightly in front of the internal attachment of the 
septum. 
Fig. 23.—This, by mistake, is numbered 33. One of the receptacula seminis 
removed from the body. The surface is marked by longitudinal grooves, and up 
each side runs a strong muscular slip (musc.) Close to the attached end is a 
diverticulum (dvt.), the surface of which is thrown into folds. 
Fig. 24.—A transverse section through the wall of one of the intestinal 
dilatations, showing the folds into which the epithelium is thrown. The columnar 
cells of either side of a fold being only separated from each other by a network of 
blood-vessels. Externally lies a thin layer of circular fibres, and outside these the 
longitudinal fibres, with a small amount of connective tissue. 
Fig. 25.—Section through the wall of the diverticulum, taken along a line 
parallel to the length. The internal surface is coated by a deep columnar epithelium, 
beneath which is a network of branching blood-vessels embedded in connective tissue. 
External to this lie, first, the circular fibres, and next, the more strongly developed 
longitudinal fibres. 
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