A B S 



ftirnlfhed with numerous \-alvc!«, which prevent any rctro- 

 grailc motion of their thiiils, ami alio pn-vciit any portion of 

 tli>; vrfiol from fultaintng the weijjht of more lUiiJ than it 

 contains bctvwccn its valves. Tiie abfoibcn's liowevcr dirter 

 from the veins in one vcr^• matciial circumllancc, I'h. that 

 they have a power of contradiun, and are able, of them- 

 Klvcs, to propel their contents. Whoever refleifts on the 

 phxnomena of abforption, can fcarctly doubt that the 

 mouths of thcfc veffels have a conti-adile power, by which 

 they refiife admilfun to noxious fubllances, whilll they readi- 

 ly imbibe tliofe that are falutaiy. If thefe velTels are ob- 

 fervcd in the mefentcr>', wiien turgid with the abforbed 

 chvie, their contt-its will difappcar in a certain traft of the 

 velfel, and ajjain become vifible ; a phjenomenon that can- 

 not be explained, uiilefs by fuppofing the vefTel to contraft 

 at that part, and urge forwards its contents. Haller found 

 that the thoracic dnct contra£led when ftimulated, fo that 

 there can be little doubt of ihtfe veHl-h being muTcular 

 throughout their whole extent. Tlte abforbents are found in 

 confiderable numbers beneath the fl^in of the extremities, and 

 when they arrive at the groins and armpits, they pafs thiougli 

 little bodies about the Uze of fmall beans, which are called 

 lymphatic glands. The abforbent veflTels, as they approach 

 vhe gland, generally fepai-ate into feveral branches, which 

 terminate in that body, and again about an equal number 

 of abforbents emerge from the gland, conjoin, and form 

 ont or more principal abforbing veflels. The abforbents 

 ■which enter the gland arc ufually denomm:itQA vajliinftTeri.'iij, 

 and '.hofe which go out of it, Vii/a efferentia. If quick- 

 filver be poured into the former veffels, the gland fwells, 

 aud a great deal of quicklilver appears to be depoilted in it ; 

 and afterwards, if the power propelling the injection be 

 continued, it is feen coming out of the gland by the vafa 

 efferentia. It fecnis therefore to follow, that the progrefs 

 <^f the abforbed fluid is checked a httle in thefe glands, and 

 it is probable that fome change is effefted in it during its 

 pafTage through them. This opinion is confirmed by ob- 

 ier\'ing that thefe glands abound with blood-veffels, which 

 probably pour fome frefli animal juices into thofe which are 

 contained in the lymphatic veffels. 



The lymphatic glands are found in great numbers in the 

 groins, armpits, and by the fide of the neck, apparently 

 ferving like baiTiers to the abforbents of the head and ex- 

 tremities, as they approach to the large veins of the trunk. 

 The abforbents of the inteftines, which contain the chyle, a 

 fcarcely animalizcd fluid, fometimes pafs through three or 

 four fcts of glands before they arrive at the thoracic duct ; 

 hence they are called vafa laftea primi, fecundi, tertii, and 

 quart! generis. The place where the lafteals conjoin, and 

 laect with the lymphatics from the lovifcr parts of the body 

 to form the thoraciq duft, appears in animals like a refer- 

 voir, and has been named the receptaculum chyli. The veffel 

 thus formed by the junftion of the lacleals, with the trunks 

 of abforbents from the lower parts of the body, having 

 pafftd through the diaphragm, is there named the thoracic 

 dufl. In this fituation it lies clofe upon the vertebrse of the 

 back, between the vena azygos and the aorta, receiving in its 

 pa.Tagc the abforbents of all parts in its vicinity. As it ap- 

 proaches the neck, it leaves the bone to get to the left 

 fubolavian vein, in which it terminates juil at its commence- 

 ment. As, however, the abforbents of the right fide of 

 the head, ajid right arm, would have to deviate confider- 

 ably were they to end in this chief trunk of the abforbing 

 fyilsm, they conjoin and form a fimilar veffel on the right 

 fiJe, which empties itfelf into the conefponding part of the 

 right fubclavian vein. Thu3 all the old materials of the 

 body, which the abforbents are continually removing, all 



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the new matter imbibed from the furface, all the redundant 

 Ivmph taken up from the interllices of the body, and all the 

 chyle occafionally obtained from the bowels, are conveyed 

 into the large veins near the heart. It is, in fliort, chiefly 

 bv this fyliem of veffels that the blood is augmented in 

 quantity or altered in quality; tiiey replenifl-. the body with nu- 

 triment, and they alfo occafionally taint it with infeftion. 



Absorbing Vclfeh, D'ljiriliiUqii of the, throughout the 

 l)ody. — The abforbents of "the foot have been injected in con- 

 fiderable numbei-s from the fpaccs between the toes ; thofe 

 of the inner fide afcend over the inner ankle, and accompany 

 the vena faphena interna. Being joined by others in this 

 courfe, the trunks thus formed appear like network on the _ 

 infide of the calf of the leg. Thjfe veffels continue in com- 

 pany with the vena faphena interna; and like it, afcend over 

 the infide of the knee and thigh, wb.ere their numbers and 

 fi/.e increafe, and at lafl; they terminate in the inguinal glands. 

 Thefe glands vary confiderably in number ; the greater part 

 of them is placed above the fafcia of the thigh, but fome 

 are found beneath it, in the hollow between the iliaCus inter- 

 nus, triceps, and fartorius mufcles. Thofe glands which 

 are higheff and neareft. to the pubes, receive alfo the abfor- 

 bents of the genitals. The abforbents of the outfide of 

 the foot pafs behind the outer ankle, and accompany the 

 vena faphena externa up the back of the leg to the ham, 

 where they terminate in the popliteal glands. They, how- 

 ever, conuTiunicate by fome branches with the fuperficial ab- 

 forbents on the infide of the leg. 



The deep-featcd abforbents of the leg accom.panying the 

 feveral arteries, which branch off from the popliteal, alfa 

 arrive at, and end in the glands of the ham, which are fmall 

 and few in number, feldom exceeding three. The abfor- 

 bents emerging from thefe glands are large, and accompany 

 the femoral artery to the groin, to temiinate in the inguinal 

 glands. Other deep-feated abforbents of the thigh, how- 

 ever, enter the pelvis at the inferior apertures of that ca- 

 vity, and communicate v^ith the veffels and glands con- 

 tained in it. The large vafa efferentia of the inguinal glands 

 pafs beneath Poupart's ligament, and accompany the exter- 

 nal iliac artery to the loins. There is a feries of glands 

 placed in the courfe of the external iliac veffels, which are 

 named the external iliac glands, with which thefe abforbents 

 are connefted. Having arrived at the lumbar vertebne, and 

 being increafed in fize by the acceflbry abforbents, which 

 they are continually recei\-ing, they terminate in the lumbar 

 glands. Thefe are much more numerous than any of the 

 claffes of glands hitherto mentioned, and quite cover the 

 aorta and vena cava. 



The abforbents of the genitals terminate, as has been faid, 

 in the upper and innermoil of the inguinal glands. Some 

 have been injefted on the fides of the penis, and others on 

 the middle, accompanying the vena dorfalis ; by their junc- 

 tion they form two trunks, which diverge, and proceed to 

 either groin. The abforbents of the fcrotum accompany the 

 cutaneous veins to the groin, and terminate in the inguinal 

 glands. The tellicles abound in abforbents, fom.e of which 

 join with thofe of the fcrotum, an3 go to the inguinal 

 glands ; but the greater part, confiiling of large and nu- 

 merous veffels, pafs up the fpermatic chord, and along the 

 external iliac veffels to terminate in the lumbar glands. The 

 abforbents of the clitoris, and e:;tcnial parts of the organs of 

 generation in females form two divifions, one of which goes, 

 as in the male, to the inguinal glands, the other veffels either 

 pafs with the round ligament of the uterus through t.'ie ab- 

 dominal rings, and along the pfoas mufcle to the lumbar 

 glands, or entering the pelvis at the inferior aperture, they 

 join the abforbents of the uterus. The abforbents of the 



hips 



