Mr. Home’s Experiments on Fluids , &c. 167 
Experiment 4. 
The thoracic duct of a dog was tied, as in the former expe- 
riment ; in doing it the duct was wounded, and about a dram 
of chyle flowed out ; the lymphatic trunk of the right side 
was then secured. After this, three ounces of infusion of 
rhubarb were injected into the stomach, and in an hour the 
dog was killed. The urine and the bile were found distinctly 
impregnated with rhubarb. On opening the thorax, some 
absorbent vessels, distended with lymph, were seen on the 
right side of the spine, entering an absorbent gland on the 
second dorsal vertebra, and the vasa efferentia from the gland 
were seen uniting with other absorbent vessels, and extending 
towards the right shoulder, where they formed a common 
trunk with the absorbents from the neck and axilla ; this trunk 
was found included in the ligature. The thoracic duct was 
moderately distended with a mixture of chyle and lymph ; in 
tracing it upwards, an opening was seen in it immediately below 
the ligature, through which the contents readily passed out 
when pressure was made on the duct : above this opening the 
duct was completely secured by the ligature. Nearly a dram of 
the fluid contained in the thoracic duct was collected and tested 
by potash, but there did not appear to be any impregnation of 
rhubarb. 
Experiment 5. 
The last experiment was repeated on another dog, on the 
21st of January, 1811, with the assistance of Mr. Brodie, 
Mr. W. Brande, Mr. Clift, and Mr. Gatcombe. The 
dog was killed an hour after the thoracic duct and lymphatic 
trunk had been secured, and the infusion of rhubarb had been 
injected into the stomach. 
Y 2 
