ON THE MORPHOLOGY OF THE DIGESTIVE 

 TRACT OF THE CAT. 



The clevelopmeiit of the human ahmentary canal has 

 been thoroughly studied by Her twig, Toldt, Klatsch, Mall, 

 and also by Huntington and others; but, as far as I know, 

 nothing has been written upon the digestive tract of the cat, 

 except when considered in a very broad and general way, as 

 is found in some of the text-books on the adult anatomy of 

 this animal. Among these books may be mentioned the 

 writings of Mivart, Bonnet, and Wilder. 



The abdominal cavity of the adult cat differs in several 

 respects from that of the human subject, and perhaps a word 

 as regards these differences will not be out of place, since by 

 keeping them in mind they will be of material aid in the 

 understanding of the subsequent pages. 



One of the most striking differences is the absolute lack 

 of all adhesions between the viscera and the abdominal walls. 

 The different divisions of the colon, as well as the great 

 omentum, are in no wise bound down by adhesions but are 

 freely movable. The stomach is very obliquely placed, and 

 its lesser curvature makes a much more acute angle than 

 in the human subject. The duodenum forms a long, free, 

 and very extensive loop, which might well be described as 

 consisting of four portions, as is customary in the descrij^- 

 tion of the human duodenum. The caecum is well developed, 

 and ends in a narrow pointed extremity. The vermiform 

 appendix is absent. The ascending colon is rather short, the 

 transverse is well developed and terminates in the descend- 

 ing colon. The position of the transverse colon in the cat 

 is totally different from its position in the human subject. 



