14$ Mr. Home on the Structure of the Stomachs 
of some thickness, similar to what is met within the hare and 
rabbit. Vide Plate VI. fig. 1, 2, and 3. 
No. V. The Dormouse . 
The stomach of the dormouse is divided into two portions 
by a muscular contraction, which is very distinct when exa- 
mined immediately after death. At the orifice of the stomach 
there is a peculiarity shewn to me several years ago by Mr. 
Macartney, which I had never seen till that time. 
This peculiarity is a glandular substance, surrounding the 
oesophagus, immediately before it terminates in the stomach ; 
the orifices of which open on the internal membrane of the 
oesophagus. Mr. Macartney left me a drawing of the exter- 
nal appearance of the gland, when the stomach was in a 
distended state, in which the muscular contraction between 
the two portions was destroyed. He said nothing about 
the structure of the gland, and as it was a subject, which 
did not then engage my attention, I thought no more about 
it. In the course of the present enquiry it occurred to my 
recollection, and upon comparing this gland with that of the 
beaver (with which it corresponds very minutely in its internal 
structure) it becomes a fact of no small importance in forming 
a series of glandular structures belonging to the stomach : in 
making use of this fact, I have great pleasure in acknowledg- 
ing the source, from whence my first knowledge of it was 
derived. This glandular structure viewed externally is like 
a mulberry, being made up of a number of small projections ; 
the orifices in the membrane of the oesophagus admit of disten- 
sion with air, and when expanded each orifice exposes three 
