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XV. On the urinary organs and secretions of some of the am- 
phibia. By John Davy, M. D. F. R. S. Communicated by 
the Society for the Improvement of Animal Chemistry. 
Read April 2, 1818. 
Colombo, March z$th, 1817 . 
Th e urinary organs of the amphibia have been imperfectly 
described by authors ; but I am not aware that any account 
has hitherto been published of the urinary secretion of any 
of this class of animals. 
Since I have been in Ceylon, both subjects have excited my 
attention, and on both I have had favourable opportunities of 
gratifying my curiosity. It may not be uninteresting to the 
Society,- to know the results of my observations. I shall briefly 
state them, confined as they are at present to a few animals of 
four natural families. 
1. Of the urinary organs , and urine of serpents. 
The kidneys of the different kinds of serpents I have ex- 
amined, resemble each other generally ; though in each kind, 
there are minute and trifling differences. In every instance, 
the kidneys are very large, nearly equal in size to the liver ; 
they are long and narrow, and very lobulated ; like some of 
the mammalia with conglomerate kidneys, they are destitute 
of a pelvis ; each lobule, sends a small duct to the ureter, which 
leaves the kidney in two branches. The ureters in general 
terminate in a single papilla. The papilla is situated in the 
