69 G 
ON THE LACTEAL AND 
<( Second, that collections of water, when formed in the abdo¬ 
men, cellular membrane, &c. are occasionally taken up, conveyed 
into the circulation, and ultimately became passed off again by 
excretion.” This is a position which I willingly give in favour of 
absorption by the Ipmphatic-s ; first, because I cannot discover 
that the red veins take their origin by open mouths from the serous 
and cellular cavities of the body; secondly, because the lympha¬ 
tic vessels are very numerous, and, as I consider, the real white 
and absorbing veins belonging to those parts ; and, thirdly, in the 
natural state of the circulation, there are very few, if any, of 
the red veins to be observed in those white or transparent parts ; 
while, on the contrary, the lymphatic veins are very numerous; 
and, although no one has ever been able to discover that they ar¬ 
rive by open mouths from those parts (no doubt in consequence of 
their extreme minuteness), yet, still I consider them as the pro¬ 
per absorbents belonging to such parts. 
3c/.—“ From the great analogy between the lymphatics and 
the lacteals, both as regards their coats, valves, manner of rami¬ 
fying ; and also from the lacteals being known and admitted to 
take their origin from the inner surface of the intestines, and 
being for the purpose of absorbing the chyle from these parts.” 
All this I most freely admit in favour of absorption being carried 
on by the lymphatic vessels; and am only surprised that, at the 
present day, there can be such a physiologist as Magendie, who 
doubts that the process of absorption is at all carried on by the 
lymphatics; and more particularly, when he must be fully aware 
that there is a very considerable portion of the living body deno¬ 
minated by the term spermatic, such as the tendons, cartilages , 
ligaments, serous and cellular membranes, £cc. ; and yet in these, 
like the red parts, there is both absorption and deposition always 
going in, while, in the majority of them, there is not the least 
particle of red blood, nor any trace of a real vein to be seen ; 
but, on the contrary, there are found to proceed from all these 
parts numerous ivkite veins, or lymphatic vessels. It appears, 
however, that Magendie is so far taken up with his theory of 
absorption by the red veins, as almost to believe, according to 
the old idea, that the lymphatics are only a system of serous 
veins, and that the simple office which these vessels perform is 
to receive from the arteries, and return to the heart, the trans¬ 
parent blood from the extreme parts of the arterial system : thus 
leaving out of the question the idea that these vessels are also 
the proper absorbing veins belonging to these white parts, and 
which is further shewn from their intimate connexion with, and 
the numerous ways in which these vessels proceed from, all the 
