SUPRARENAL BODIES 385 



111 addition to the glandular vesiculse seminales and the 

 prostate (Fig. 377), paired Coiuper's glands (Fig. 299), open in the 

 male into the urinogenital canal, and representatives o.f these 

 {glmids of Bartliolini) usually occur in the female. Preputial 

 glands are also present between the prepuce and glans penis and 

 in a corresponding position in the female. 



Suprarenal Bodies. 



The suprarenals or adrenals are bodies of a glandular structure 

 situated in the ccelome right and left of the vertebral column, 

 generally in close proximity to the kidneys. 



Nothing is known of these bodies in Amphioxus or in the 

 Dipnoi. In Cyclostomes they are said to be present and to arise in 

 connection with the anterior part of the pronephros. In 

 Elasmobrancliii and Holocephali they are represented by two 

 distinct sets of structures — paired or unpaired interrenals of a 

 yellow colour, close to the kidneys (Fig. 290), and a segmentally 

 arranged row of suprarenal bodies, situated close to the inter- 

 costal arteries in the neighbourhood of the kidneys. The former 

 apparently represent the cortical (mesoblastic) and the former the 

 medullary (epiblastic) portions of the adrenals of higher forms. 

 In Teleostei the adrenals are usually paired and are in close 

 relation with the kidneys — -they correspond to the interrenals 

 of Elasmobranchs. Amongst Ganoids the. Sturgeon possesses 

 numerous yellow bodies of the same nature. In Amphibia these 

 organs form yellow streaks or dots on the ventral surface or inner 

 border of the kidneys, receiving blood from the renal portal veins 

 as well as from the renal arteries. 



In the higher Vertebrates the adrenals consist of "' cortical " 

 and " medullary " portions, the latter derived from the sympathetic 

 nervous system, and therefore epiblastic, and the former from the 

 proneiDhros or mesonephros, or from the germinal epithelium 

 (mesoblastic) : the mode of development of the cortical substance, 

 however, requires further investigation. They are abundantly 

 supplied with blood-vessels and must have an important function, 

 but their physiology is not understood. In Eeptiles and Birds they 

 are elongated and lobulated, and are situated close to the gonads. 

 Both medulla and cortex are apparently represented in all these 

 forms, but the relative relations of the two parts vary greatly. 

 In Mammals each adrenal forms a definite and uniform rounded 

 or oval mass lying near the corresponding kidney (Fig. 285 b), the 

 medullary substance being central, and the cortical substance 

 peripheral. In many Mammals these organs contain pigment cells 

 as well as numerous lymphatic follicles and vessels. 



c c 



