534 



ANATOMY OF VERTEBEATES. 



Lampreys ' a continuous narrow elongated gland, which extends in 

 their young or Ammocete condition throughout the abdomen, but in 

 the full-grown fish {Petromyzori) along the posterior two thirds : in 



both being confined to the 

 352 dorsal part of the cavity, 



fig. 354, g. The ureters, 

 ib. e, open into the short 

 canal leading to the pa- 

 pillary production of the 

 peritoneal outlets close 

 to the anus.^ 



In most Osseous Fishes 

 the kidneys are long and 

 narrow, and extend 

 throush the whole or a 

 great part of the dorsal 

 region of the abdomen, 

 firmly attached to the 

 vertebral column ; they 

 are usually broadest and 

 thickest anteriorly,where 

 they sometimes present 

 a lobulated surface ; they 

 contract, approximate, 

 and frequently blend to- 

 gether as they extend 

 backwards ( Cydopterus) ; 

 sometimes penetrating 

 the ha3mal canal in the 

 tail. In the Gymnotus 

 the kidneys are distinct 

 and thickest at their pos- 

 terior ends, as they are 

 in the Gurnard, fig. 379, 

 k, and in most Sharks. 

 The kidneys have not 

 a well-defined capsule 

 in Osseous Fishes, but 

 their ventral surface is immediately covered by an aponeurotic 

 membrane, against which the peritoneiun, and the air-bladder 

 when present, arc applied. The renal tissue is soft and spongy, 



' In Petromi/zon marinns tlio ili.anictor of the tubuli uriiiifcii is ^l:;!!! of an inch, tliiit 

 of tlio ciiiiilhiries of tlio kijncys bciii^ Tmro'h of -in im'li. ' -^x. iv. pi. 50, fig. \,c. 



"^'iscL'ia ol itiaU' iSluirk, showing kidiu 



