0 ylO68ElO LOLI €& 4O ALISHAAINN ey Presented to the LIBRARY of the UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO by THE ESTATE OF MRS. E.M. BAILLIE Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2008 with funding from Microsoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/3edpracticalanatOObensuoft " \ Va ny, A PRACTICAL ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT AN ELEMENTARY LABORATORY TEXTBOOK IN MAMMALIAN ANATOMY By Baas BENSLEY,Ph-D: Professor of Zoology in the University of Toronto THIRD EDITION TORONTO: UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS 1921 COPYRIGHT, CANADA, 1921 BY UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. The present edition of the ‘Anatomy of the Rabbit”’ appears in the same form as previously adopted for the second, but with some minor revisions and modifications. The necessity of re- printing the text after a comparatively brief interval of use, and the thorough revision in passing from the first to the second editions are together accountable for the fact that the number of corrections is not greater. Realizing that the ultimate value of a manual ot dissection depends upon the combined experience of as great a variety as possible of instructors and students using it, the author has endeavoured ait all stages of revision to incorporate such new ideas as have been received, and is appreciative of the interest taken in the matter by an increasing number of individuals. The chief features of the text may be summarized as follows: The practical convenience of the rabbit is recognized as material for elementary anatomical study in the same way as in other fields of biological study and investigation. Though the principal design of the book is to direct the student in an orderly study of the tructure of a mammal, points of physiological interest have been included so far as seemed advisable within the limits of a small manual of anatomichl oyilook. The setting of gross, anatomy, In respect of microscopic anatomy, embryology; and. the foundations of evolutionary development in general, has been carefully con- sidered. While the poirits to which reference is made in the dis- section are given a restricted description, there is no suggestion to the student of inadequate and superficial treatment, such as is common and perhaps necessary in manuals where the study of a number of types is presupposed as part of the course of instruction. The book has been planned in part to serve the purpose of those zoological students who seek to obtain knowledge of a grade of organization sufficiently near that of the human body as a foundation for comparative studies, but more especially for premedical and medical students who by making a preliminary practical study of a convenient and easily obtained mammal may obtain thereby a knowledge of the foundations of human 4 PREFACE structure, together with experience of the laboratory practice upon which first-hand knowledge of gross anatomy depends. It is with reference to the latter group that the plan of nomenclature has been rigidly selected in accordance with the newer and more uniform terminology now happily established in the texibooks of human anatomy. The student will be warned against terminology as an end in itself, as against other short cuts to knowledge, and if properly directed will place the emphasis upon praciice and initiative. B. A. BENSLEY. University of Toronto, December Ist, 1920. CONTENTS. Page [ENF RONDICC THON) Sac rae acho ete toc io i en cic oe ere en ee a 7 Part I. A GENERAL CONSIDERATION OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE RABBIT. AON RAND VLE THODS 2.2 mare Mem ore meets oy 2 nto otfa Ss eee ee 4 9 [NEERPRE RATION TON! SDRUCTURE twtr sean ascents, < erties ue act cat Maret 10 AON Ge NaN ME OSTDLON. 5.50 -tayern ee RR aes hs eae Seay eres Se nse bin ale ng 14 (GiSINIE TRAE, “TEND MAO INA get eerie Bierce raed a EL ee Ui 19 THE TissuES— IE ovkelavey View| IBIS. serene oe aie oc iecant RS coSlea tr Ute aie Lar ce eee RE See” 21 (CemMacihyOA MEGS Fe ees eran ais eon eeu cacy ces Bs Cael nee nae aie see eee 24 WAGs beh Miss UES is ceri Le Ey 4 es se Shc tnthae note ter Maan ome oes Shans 33 INGIaVOUISPISGHIES stents: nti a SPC uhanr | oo meca aae ayn feo hash. Sree ore Bi IB loodsarncwlewemag lance meric. woe. ly: aaa come ntcn a tee Reems do heres ne ees 39 PRE UNTN OO Gvgcmyer eee) eye Sebi cas cash oom Sas caetate ee Ieee es ee ee etal G ceniminns 40 THE GENERAL FEATURES AND GROUND PLAN OF THE ORGAN SYSTEMS... 43 CISC GANBIOI 5 oaks Sot Gnd cs oat: Mee Oia nee eine tees ree ae ee 44 (Geena Ope amtza WORM ces Ais hn oie A aes tv. See Mn ae rs A 46 EimbpyonicrelanvomineiSy Stems sais a) os eee anieee ecie ens ae or 48 sess keletaleSysuenerers- sta. fitness coe. anon ean tye en Pees ek ean cae 51 ‘ne Wiiuseullare Sys e ae nese ae een Neen, cei aia et ne 62 “ATME INIGERLOWE) SiySUC 00 Seed cee ceo aN oeaeeCROIER toe? ain cee Meee aces SiS ieee et 66 axe ID RESHNTES SyRIRS tls aoetee sane Sirens Gita mien e meron, aun einer? reer if Mites RNEespinatonyeSyStemiss =... ye lest ios oc aps eh eens ee gs eee 84 PLVeMN els GuleireSy Sterile. 5 4 scr. Maik, eaves gnscume Gust haae ss (jo MC estan oak: 87 Mem leycmmlia GLEE Sy SUCIIM ps: tors see ce ck omc esec) tag denies he eno seek 90 Miitem Urine enttaleSyGteml ac veya se. cele os) Aelteie slot ectis Baten een ares 2 BT eRSChOUSy Saniies awe lary. Mic rise te eMac See were ake eR eter ees 08 REGTON AUS BC LION SS wee paid te Gk near Geto ccc ches sete an sne, jel hal ROPE ore eh olmeene IOI PARtaeOSDPEOUOGY OF DHE ABB GENDRAT SD IVISTONSHON THE SKELETON. s0o;, si sie fev aishne jesaeseeracmie cn: 118 SIRE EIRAT EB YAW ae @GIETINGEN toric je 3s aie yes osu Soaks uo acne rene Reg ds Rie ee neg cee ae 118 TBI: TRITTEFS OS Oh eek Ce ey Baas eat a nS pee a ents Ae 125 TSH! | SWABS Ss o-ec e oe eae ee cee ERE Oe ee EIR Tac aoe ae a es een Pr ea 127 SEO MEME TONGOR Teast DAD N.oah ayia SE oe TS en aes eh Baan 127 [Plane SI Rwl | suse, AN VG ek eee ee geet, ey Pee in egg Rhee macoerte ee 127 WNremis om Corot ee S kulllles ne Mec eee seet ner vrs sien, aelas a wereld an Nae I 40 SR emlety OG ATO Maia EUS eeu yee sens hate Gia ee Mecuatscciciees Wie tye) gy wo sie ats 158 HE SKEEETONSOR THE ANTERIOR ITMB . osccsc\s lec sud sisusla oe abe we Soles 159 PHS SIE TONS ORMTHE MOSTERTOR (CEMB:,. = 0: au: Gaia ccs, aS ae eeies sod Aer 165 Part III. DISSECTION OF THE RABBIT. Tee RG RNY AM EWE AUTEUIRUD Siatecet ners Se seas feces. ch iaia ov ov siiee SS ORAM ccuageuthe eye esansie. eZ yaueteues 176 ae BESIEAREAUES D) OMUNU AT DV EAUBTneg ene cect oes! Sot sehr ecley. esd ciabae sicnaieiduarer ere alee" 178 Be IER OLOMACH RAND ORIEN scot nr tc. s ae eaters autars eoviens peie/eics wees auc 181 ‘Wis. JETER ES Ging Oem io 3. ia ote ONS OREM OCS SRR nee et erect 186 Pama MCLE NCGS STATINS aetna me ee A oe Oy Seep MALTS urchin sonia ol aie sal Avia elgele cx tase 188 Gna ELE CRIN O GM NURATCs SVSTENE picts 62 crates 2 = «A soecar Susp nrs 6: oaaet aaa ayele Guns eee 194 7. THE ABDOMINAL AORTA, INFERIOR VENA CAVA, AND SYMPATHETIC ETE DISCS oS sorter Gas elects A oe he Rn, Ea ae RC a ac era . 202 SE ee AN RE RTORM Le TMB ieee sce eih tad wurth clea bus Gare dub wieiei aie os situa sistas OS Cae leeiben Ee OSE RTO Re le MMB tecevnn eine tae ete as cree Skis sieseua secede 2 sities sis lass aa myles 217 CNEL PLA MAINS UNIIGIKc Pyrtny Scie era eres wats aye ite sietris eles. ue lvo votes e sqe tuners 235 TET oy UCIEMD) “USGI /N0-C a teatro eeet elon ee nal ola eit key Caen Cea Oem oe Sic 255 IZ aloe VERTEBRAL AND OCCrprtaAL, MUSCULATURE)... -. 0.0. .0% +e ee ees 265 Lea SHUNMRIAT: INITR VOUS OVSILEM cae fies lac one cislcnc lero tiene c © ora term ony uas 270 APPENDIX. DIRECTIONS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF MATERIAL........... 283 end at ee INTRODUCTION. As a laboratory exercise the anatomical study of an animal is chiefly a matter of applying a certain practical method of exposi- tion, the student’s attention being concentrated on those facts which can be made out by direct observation. This method is educative in the technical sense because it involves accurate discernment of detail, and, as a means of obtaining first-hand information, it is the foundation of laboratory practice. In studying the structure of any organism, however, it is to be considered that the final object is not simply to determine in what its structure consists, i.e., its anatomy in a restricted sense, but also to understand what structure signifies, either as functional mechanism, or as the product of racial or evolutionary factors. While it is conceivable that a single organism, either as individual or species, may be considered by itself, a very superficial study suffices to show that the structure and function of no living organism can be interpreted apart from the general arrangements of organized nature, and more especially from the corresponding features of those organisms most nearly allied in point of resemblance. This being the case, it becomes a more or less practical question in comparative study combined with dissection, or other form of laboratory practice, what the proper procedure should be. So far as the present book is concerned, it is expected that the study of the type will begin with the examination of the prepared skeleton (part II). This will be followed by dissection (part III), in which the order by sections will be found to be of less importance than that of details in any particular region. The general matter of part I is purely accessory, and though necessarily incomplete in many ways, is designed to afford a comprehensive view of the various factors upon which mammalian structure depends. Regional sections of the foetus as figured in part I, or frozen sections of the adult animal, are a useful adjunct, since they can be used either for points of general organization, or, being sub- stantially correct for two dimensions, can be used to remove some erroneous impressions of the position of organs incidental to their displacement in dissection. PART I. A GENERAL CONSIDERATION OF THE STRUCTURE | OF THE RABBIT, DIVISIONS AND METHODS. Biology, the science or study of living organisms, includes several related sciences, the chief of which are Anatomy, the study of organized structure; Physiology, the study of function; and Embryology, the study of development. Anatomy, or Com- parative Anatomy, the latter referring to the comparative study of organisms, and Embryology are also considered either as divisions, or as practical methods, of Morphology, the general science of the evolution of form. The term “Anatomy” was originally applied to the dissection or study of the human body, and is still considered as referring more especially to the latter. Even in the early stages of biological science, however, the use of the term was extended to organisms generally; and afterwards, chiefly as a result of the introduction of the microscope as a new method of examining structure, it attained its present comprehensiveness as a term applying to the study of structure generally. It has been found convenient, especially in human anatomy, to distinguish as Gross Anatomy, the study of that kind of structure which is displayed by dissection, or is revealed by oe -eye appearances, and as Microscopic Anatomy, the study of finer structure through the application of the microscope; or, again, to distinguish as Special or Descriptive Anatomy, the study of the particular features of the organs of the body, and as General Anatomy, the study of its more fundamental composition. General Anatomy is practically equivalent to Histology, the latter con- sidering the body from the point of view of the structure and arrangement of its cells and tissues. These distinctions are of interest in the present case chiefly as defining more exactly the practical method and the kind of structure IO ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. to be considered. Thus, dissection is to be recognized as a method of displaying structure of a gross and special kind. It consists in the orderly exposure and displacement of organs with the object of observing their features and relations’ to surrounding parts. ~The plan is essentially one of analysis, since conceptions of structure are based on the recognition of differences, the latter being estimated by various features, such as form, color, texture, or position. On the other hand, because of the class of structure with which it deals, dissection is also to be recognized as a preliminary method in comparison with various others involving the use of the microscope. THE INTERPRETATION OF STRUCTURE. Gross structure is, in a sense, only the outward expression of the finer microscopic structure underlying it, the latter being the true basis of the body. This refers not so much to the individual features of the organs as to the relation existing between their appearance as gross objects and their tissue composition. Since this relation is more fully discussed below under the head of general anatomy, it need only be mentioned here as an element in the interpretation of structure as viewed from the gross standpoint. All animal structure, however, may be considered from two points of view—physiological and morphological. The physiological aspect of structure concerns the functions or activities of the living organism and of its individual parts. The contraction of a skeletal muscle is a change in the axial relations of living protoplasm, but the form and connections of the muscle are such that the contraction results in movement of one bone upon another. The excretion of urine on the part of the kidneys is the final stage of a process which rids the body of soluble waste nitro- genous materials by discharging them into a system of tubes connected with the outside of the body. What is important in these, as in a multitude of analogous cases, is that structure and function are intimately related, and in point of interpretation, serve to explain one another. The morphological aspect of structure concerns various features of form and arrangement which, although they have been developed on a basis of utility, cannot be explained directly on that THE INTERPRETATION OF STRUCTURE. II basis, because the factors controlling them lie outside of the body of the individual, and are such as have operated only through a long series of gradually changing conditions in the evolution of its tpye As applied to a particular animal, the morphological method con- sists in explaining its adult structure by reference either to its embryonic development or to the equivalent conditions in lower existing, or perhaps fossil, forms. A recognized principle of embryology is that known as ihe Law of Recapitulation It is based on the general observation that the definitive structure of an organism is attained through a series of embryonic stages, in which it not only develops from a simple or ground type to a more com- plex condition but also reflects in passing the features of lower, and presumably its own ancestral, forms. That of comparative anatomy depends on the comparison of higher, specialized animals with lower, or generalized ones, the latter being assumed. in one feature or another, to have remained in a backward or primitive state of specialization, and therefore to reflect in such features a low grade of structure of a kind possessed by the ancestors of existing higher forms. These relations form a basis for the comparison of the embryonic development of organisms with the evolution or history of the groups which they represent, the former being distinguished as ontogeny, the latter as phylogeny. The interpretation of the adult structure of an organism is a matter of distinguishing its more general features from its more special ones, the former being in all cases those to which the ontogenetic and phylogenetic prin- ciples are especially applicable. How such conditions affecting the present form of an organism have come about, may be explained by reference to ancestry. The sum of characters, apart from influences of accident, are the result of development of the primordial cell which constitutes the fertilized egg. Such features as are impressed upon the animal during growth or maturity are in this respect negligible, and the importance of the egg-cell is in no way diminished by the fact that in the majority of mammals it undergoes its early development within the maternal body. The succession of generations, or continuity of life, carries onward the structure of the body, and as fossil organisms reveal, has maintained this process for countless millions of years. 2 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. With succession has also come modification, the evidence of which lies not only, geologically speaking, in the relative times of appearance of life forms on the earth, but also in the fact that succession leads from primitive to specialized animals. revealing in a large way the same kinds of differences observable among those living at the present day. That the entire skeleton of a mammal is patterned upon the primitive skeleton of the fossil amphibia of the Carboniferous and Permian is evident from a comparison of the components part for part, but it is equally evident from com- parative anatomy that the viviparous condition of a higher mammal is founded upon an oviparous condition in lower forms even if no fossil evidence is forthcoming. That a mammal as an air-breathing vertebrate should develop gill structures in the embryonic con- dition, though circumstances never come about by which such structures are used, is in itself an important fact bearing on adult structure, but such a condition also shows to what extent a living animal carries ancestral features, whether functionally modified or not. All characters of animals have thus an evolutionary basis, the general nature of which is easily understood although the process by which they have been developed is still a matter of uncertainty. In comparison with one another, animals present certain resem- blances and differences—diagnostic features, which are used as a basis for classifying them into major and minor groups. In many cases characters of resemblance have been shown to be secondary, and are hence described as convergent. In some of these the resemblances are of a gross type, and the structures are described as analogous; in other cases they are exact or homoplastic. As a rule, however, characters of resemblance are broad marks of affinity, comparable to those seen on a small scale in human’ families, or in human races, and determined as in the latter cases by heredity. The chief basis of comparison of animals with one another is the general assumption that structures which are similar or identical are homogenous—of common origin On the other hand, their differences are chiefly marks of divergence in evolution. Although it is conceivable that many of the internal features of animals are the result of a general progressive development, more THE INTERPRETATION OF STRUCTURE. 12 conspicuous in comparison with those of primitive types, the majority of their differences are such as have resulted from adaptive modifications of structure, by which they have become differently adjusted to the particular conditions of their accepted habitats. Adaptation is one great factor in modifying animal form, produc- ing first divergences, as between one type and its contemporaries; although such features may afterwards become settled in particular groups, and thus appear for these as primitive, general, or group-characters. Adaptation, in other words, is not a matter of present conditions only, of fixed environment, or an environment of a general or special kind. The rabbit as a gnawing animal or rodent, for example, is also an air-breathing, walking vertebrate, and shares these larger and also more ancient features with many other vertebrates of otherwise different kinds. It is customary to include under the term specialization all those features in which an organism may be shown to be more highly modified in comparison with another type. If the latter is an ancestral type, or a lower form exhibiting ancestral features, its more primitive features are said to be prototypal, because they indicate the form from which the higher modification has been derived. Such comparisons not only reveal the fact that different animals are specialized in different degrees, but also show that a given form may be greatly specialized in some respects and primitive in others. Moreover, it is to be considered that animals are at the present time, as they have been in the past, more or less changeable, or plastic types. Some of the most interesting features which they exhibit depend on the circumstance that the adjustment of structure which is rendered necessary by the opposing effects of heredity and specialization is not exact or immediate. Thus, it is not difficult to find in any specialized animal, in addition to those organs which are functional or in full development, others which are retro- gressive in character and reduced in size. It is also to be assumed although difficult of proof among living forms, that there are also organs which are sub-functional or progressive. 14 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. ZOOLOGICAL POSITION. It will be evident from the foregoing statement that every specialized animal possesses in its organization a vast assemblage of features which, if referred to their proper categories, are found to represent many grades of morphological value. In so far as the adult structure of a particular form is concerned, it is possible to consider them anatomically without discrimination; but, on the other hand, if they are to be explained, it is necessary to proceed on a basis of function, embryonic development, or evolution. The study of an animal as a type or representative of a group, however, concerns only in a general way the features common to its various members, since the majority of features present in any animal are of minor importance, and as such are significant chiefly as indicating the developments which may take place inside the group. The question of what an animal is actually representative is a matter of comparison with other forms, in other words, of its zoological position. This isexpressed through the medium of classification, the latter being arranged to indicate, so far as is possible, the relation- ships of organisms to one another. In this connection the following statement of the zoological position of the rabbit may be found useful; and it may also be considered as illustrating, through the comparison of this animal with allied forms, some of the more general characters of animals as outlined above. The domestic rabbit is represented by several races, of which the common variously-colored forms, long-haired Angoras, Lop- Ear Rabbits, and Belgian ‘‘Hares’’ are more familiar. They are all descendants of the wild rabbit (Oryctelagus cuniculus, Lepvs cuniculus) of Europe. The !atter is thought to have belonged originally to the countries bordering the western portion of the Mediterranean, but its distribution has been greatly extended northward and to other continents through human agency. The family Leporidae contains a large number of closely related species formerly included in the single genus Lepus. They are variously known as hares and rabbits, but the latter designation is considered to apply more exactly to the European rabbit and its domesticated races, the others, with one or two exceptions, being more properly described as hares. The more familiar species ZOOLOGICAL POSITION. 15 include the North American Cotton-Tail (Sylvilagus floridanus, Lepus sylvaticus), and the Prairie Hare or Jack-Rabbit (Lepus campestris) ; the European Common Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuni- culus), and Hare (Lepus europeus). The two European species differ in several well marked features, which form the basis of-the accepted distinctions between hares and rabbits. The rabbit is distinguished by its shorter ears and less elongated hind limbs; also by its burrowing habits, and by the circumstance that the young are born in a blind and naked condition. The hare is more nearly a running or cursorial type, and is distinguished by its longer ears—which, moreover, are tipped with black—longer hind limbs and prominent eyes. Unlike the rabbit it does not burrow, but inhabits only an open “‘form,’’ and the young when born are clothed with hair and able to see. The various species constituting this family are distinguished by several features, including the imperfect development of the clavicle, longer ears and limbs, and the presence of a distinct although greatly reduced tail, from the Picas or Tailless Hares (Ochodontide) of the mountainous districts of Central Asia and of North America (Rocky Mountains). The two families are allied, however, in the possession of a common feature, namely, the presence in the upper jaw of a second pair of incisor teeth. This feature distinguishes the sub-order Duplicidentata from that. of the Simplicidentata, the latter containing the majority of rodents and embracing all forms with a single pair of upper incisors. _ The mammalian order Rodentia, to which the family belongs, contains a very large assemblage of forms—the Squirrels, Marmots, Cavies, Beavers, Mice, and Porcupines being among the more familiar. This order is distinguished by the modification of the anterior incisors in both upper and lower jaws to form chisel-like cutting organs, the teeth having their enamel layer disposed chiefly if not wholly on their front surfaces, so that they remain ina permanently sharp condition. This modification is associated with an extensive obliteration of intermediate teeth, comprising posterior incisors, canines, and anterior premolars; also with elaboration and often great complexity of the remaining premolar and molar teeth, the lower jaw, and, indeed, the parts of the skull generally. Characteristic of these animals is the extension, both forward and 16 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. backward, of the jaw-musculature. The articulation of the lower jaw exhibits an elongated articular process fitting into a corres- ponding longitudinal fossa on the skull, the jaw being able to move forward and backward in addition to vertically and from side to side. The teeth are further arcuate in shape, and are provided with open roots, so that their growth is not limited, as it is in the majority of mammals. “The rodents are in many particulars primitive types. For example, they tend to retain the five-toed (pentadactyl), plantigrade foot, characteristic of primitive mam- malia and, indeed, of terrestrial vertebrates, and exhibit also un- elaborated cerebral hemispheres in the brain. In other respects, however, as in the rodent characters above-mentioned and in the elaboration of the intestine, especially the caecum, they exhibit the characters of highly specialized herbivores. Like all higher or placental mammalia (Placentalia), the rabbit is viviparous, the young being retained through a period of gestation in the maternal uterus, to the wall of which they are attached by a vascular connection, the placenta. In this feature the placental mammalia differ from the marsupial mammalia (Marsupialia) of Australia and South America, the latter being viviparous, but, with one exception, without placenta; also from the egg-laying mammalia (Monotremata) of Australia, the latter being oviparous, like the majority of the lower, reptilian forms. These three sub-classes of mammals are united, however, by the common features of the class Mammalia. They are warm-blooded animals, provided with a complete double cir- culation, and with a hairy investment for the surface of the body. In all, the young are nourished for a time after birth through the secretion of modified cutaneous, milk-producing, or mammary glands. Many of the more general features of the rabbit are such as are not recognized by group designation, but yet are shared with other terrestrial vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, birds, and, in part, amphibians. This refers to the development of the lungs and associated respiratory tracts, both the true réspiratory tracts and the accessory respiratory passages traversing the skull; further the loss of the branchial or fish-type of respiration and the new disposition of the branchial structures; the development of a tri- ZOOLOGICAL POSITION. 17 segmented type of limb with a full complement of muscles, and originally a pentadactyl, plantigrade foot, for support of the body and for locomotion. The regional differentiation of the vertebral column, especially the mobility of the neck, the free occipital articulation, and the definition of the sacrum, the latter associated with the elaboration of the pelvic girdle, are all features of general signifiicance in the terrestrial vertebrates. Finally, the rabbit agrees with other members of the phylum Chordata in the possession of a ground-plan underlying the most general features of its organs, and the position, arrangement, and plan of development of its organ-systems. All Vertebrata or back-boned animals possess an axial skeleton formed by the segmenied vertebral column. In a very comprehensive way they possess as chordates a still more fundamental axial support, the notochord, the latter being an embryonic structure except in the lowest chordates. In a more restricted sense, as Craniota, they possess an organized head region with differentiated brain, special sense organs, and enclosing primary skull. They possess a series of branchial (branchiomeric) structures, appearing either in the adult condition, as in fishes, or as part of the underlying plan in the embryonic condition; and they add to their general features in the arrangement of the organ-systems the further feature of transverse segmentation (metamerism) of a considerable portion of the body. These facts may be set down in tabular form, as indicated below. A similar plan can be constructed for any group of organisms, but whether it constitutes a natural or an artificial classification depends on whether or not it is based upon an actual study of the affinities of the organisms concerned. : 3 imal end of the femur of a young fication, by which the portion of the animal: c.f., principal epiphysis for the a : 6 head of the femur. The accessory Cartilage undergoing transformation fers (erat ond chia. (er ty cee is temporarily strengthened. Into at this, “area? the -active ‘cells, .onaerne perichondrium are carried through the agency of vascular in- growths, the periosteal buds, and the result of their presence is the deposition of bone material in association with the remaining portions of the matrix. This condition is partly illustrated in the distal epiphysis of the humerus shown in Fig. 13, A, the figure being from a vertical section of the elbow-joint of a four-day-old rabbit. In the long bones the formation of the first or main centres of ossification takes place in the shaft, and there are formed afterwards accessory or epiphysial centres for the extremities. A divided extremity, such as the proximal end of the femur (Fig. 11), may possess several such centres—a principal one for the chief epiphysis or actual extremity of the bone and several subsidiary centres for CONNECTIVE TISSUES. an its outstanding processes. In the shaft the formation of endochon- dral bone is of short duration. Through the activity of the osteo- blasts lying directly in the perichondrium, or later the periosteum, a process of formation of intramembranous bone goes on during the whole period of growth, and the result of the peripheral deposi- tion of bone lamellae is, as described above, that the transverse diameter of the bone is greatly increased. The enlargement of the marrow cavity, with which this is associated, is produced by the absorption of bone from the interior. In young animals both the epiphysial centres and the masses of cartilage in which they are formed are sharply marked off from the body of the bone (cf. Fig. 13). This is largely because the formation of the epiphysial centres tends to lag behind that of the main centres, and thus the cartilage extremities of the bones are evident long after the formation of the shaft is under way. In the epiphysial centres the bone formation is endochondral. The bone masses which they form are distinguished as epiphyses. During the period of growth they are connected with the: body of the bone by plates of epiphysial cartilage, Pie, re, ie eeelaoe : . : : : tion of the skull ina three-day- into which the surrounding perichondrium ¢id rabbit. bo, _ basioccipital : : : : bone; ch, occipital portion of extendssas an ossitication ridge. In-this — ‘ckoniroceanium: co, occipital region bone formation takes place, with ferdvi' £0) greatly increased in length. After the period of growth, the duration of which differs in different bones, the epiphyses become firmly co-ossified with the body of the bone, although the lines of junction or epiphysial lines may be still visible. Thus in the distal extremities of the radius and ulna, in the proximal extremities of the fibula, or in the bodies of the lumbar vertebrae, the epiphysial lines appear even in old animals. In the foregoing figure (10) of the divided femur it will be seen that the position of the epiphysial lines is indicated by bands of compact tissue. Finally, in thoroughly macerated bones of young animals, the epiphyses are usually found to be readily separable from the bones. a2 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. In a comparison of the adult skeleton with the more primitive embryonic skeleton, several differences in the arrangement of the elements are evident. Thus many bones, notwithstanding their possession of several centres of ossification, are to be looked upon as individual either in the cartilage or in the bone condition. In other cases, as in the basal portion of the skull, separate bone elements are produced in a mass of cartilage primarily continuous. These either remain distinct throughout life, or, as in the occipital region, (Fig. 12), become fused together to form compound or composite bones. In still other cases, as in the vertebrae, the apparently single elements of the adult condition are the products not only of originally distinct bones, but also of primarily separate cartilage masses. Fic. 13. Vertical sections of elbow and knee of four-day-old rabbit. A elbow; c, capsule; eb, endochondral bone in the distal epiphysis of the humerus; ea, extensor muscles of the forearm; em, extensors of the hand; fa, flexors of the forearm; fm, flexors of the hand; h, humerus; ol, olecranon; r, radius; sc, synovial cavity; u, ulna. B, knee; a, anterior cruciate ligament; c, capsule; f, femur; lp, patellar ligament; p, posterior cruciate ligament; pv, popliteal vessels; t, tibia; x,x, anterior and posterior ligaments of the lateral meniscus; x’,x’, anterior and posterior ligaments of the medial mehiscus. The bones of the skeleton are united or articulated with one another by connective tissue in the form of ligaments, by cartilage, or in some cases by both together, i.e., by fibrocartilage. Liga- mentous union, distinguished as syndesmosis, is the most general type of articulation. Cartilage union or synchondrosis occurs in certain situations, as in the basal region of the skull. Union by fibrocartilage or symphysis is characteristic of the articulation of the two sides of the pelvis (symphysis pubis). 5 MUSCULAR TISSUES. a3 The articulations of bones are of two types—immovable articulations or synarthroses, and movable articulations, diar- throses, or joints. In the former, motion is either absent or at least greatly restricted. In the latter, it is definitely provided for through the presence of joint-structures. Thus in a joint (Fig. 13) the apposed surfaces of the bones are accurately modelled in relation to one another, and are moreover covered by a layer of cartilage, the latter forming a joint cushion. Between the two surfaces is a space, the cavity of the joint, containing a viscid material, the synovia, which serves for lubrication. The space is enclosed by a connective tissue capsule. The strength of the joint depends largely on the enclosing capsule, but it is usually greatly increased by the presence of accessory ligaments. In the more complex joints, such as that of the knee (Fig. 13 B), interarticular cartilages (menisci) are enclosed between the bone surfaces, and the latter are connected directly by short ligamentous cords. The various liga- ments of a joint permit free motion of the bones, but only up to a certain point. : Several differences are observable in joints according to the form of the apposed surface and the kind of motion provided for. Thus in the i ball-and-socket joint or enarthrosis, exemplified Gari tone : : section of the mus- by those of the shoulder and hip, a bone is able to cular tunic of the move in various directions about its base of attachment, although actually, in the limbs, this motion is almost restricted to an anteroposterior direction. In the ginglymus or hinge-joint, as exemplified by the distal articulations of the limb, motion is restricted to a single plane. The gliding joint or arth- rodia is one in which a slight degree of motion is made possible by one surface slipping over the other; it is exemplified in the accessory articulations of the vertebral arches. 3. Muscular Tissues. Muscular tissues are the active portions of the individual muscles of the skeleton and of the muscle coats of visceral organs. Their chief feature consists in the elongation of the cells to form 34 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. fibres. These fibres may be considered to possess the contractile properties of protoplasm, but with the contraction limited to one direction. Except ina few cases the fibres are arranged in a parallel fashion, so that the line of contraction of the muscle or muscle layer is the same as that of each of its fibres. The result of con- traction in both is the shortening of the longitudinal axis and the increase of the transverse axis. Muscles are important structures in the production of heat. The latter is liberated not only in action but also when the muscle is in repose. Two chief types of muscle fibres occur in the bobdy—the smooth or unstriated fibres, which are characteristic of the involuntary muscles or muscle coats of the visceral organs or of the skin, and the striated fibres which com- pose the individual or voluntary muscles of the skeleton. Smooth fibres (Fig. 14) are elongated, spindle-like cells, the substance of which is longitud- inally striated, but possesses no transverse mark- ings. The single nucleus of the cell occupies a central position. The muscles which they form are distinguished as involuntary because their operation is not under the control of the will, their connections being with the sympathetic nervous system. The striated fibres (Fig. 15) are very Fic. 15. Striated much larger, cylindrical structures, the substance (skeleta)) muscle of of which possesses characteristic transverse stria- tions. Each fibre is enclosed by a loosely attached membrane, the sarcolemma, on the inner surface of which many nuclei occur.* The presence of these nuclei indicates that the fibre is not a single cell but a syncytium, 7.e., an association of © cells unseparated by cell boundaries. The muscles formed by such fibres are under the control of the will, their connections being directly with the central nervous system. They comprise not only the typical muscles of the skeleton, but also the special muscles connecting the skeleton with the skin. *The position of the nuclei is characteristic of the so-called white muscles. In the semitendinosus of the rabbit, which is a red muscle, the nuclei occur between the fibril bundles of the interior of the fibre. Red fibres contract more slowly but are more resistant to fatigue. The proportion of red and white fibres varies in different muscles. MUSCULAR TISSUES. 35 The muscular substance of the heart differs both from striated and smooth muscle in being composed of branched anastomosing fibres, which apparently form a continuous network. Like striated muscle, it possesses characteristic transverse markings, but, like involuntary muscle, it is under the control of the sympathetic nervous system. As gross structures the voluntary muscles are functional units, each of which has a particular action according to the movement permitted by the parts of the skeleton to which it is attached. They present a longitudinal striation which is roughly referred to as the direction of the fibres, and which is of great value in identifi- cation. The striation is due to the circumstance that the fibres are arranged in parallel groups or muscle bundles, each of which is surrounded and_ separated from the adjacent bundles by a connective tissue enclosure, the perimysium. A muscle is typically spindle shaped, consisting of a middle fleshy portion, termed the belly of the muscle, and of tapering Fic. 16. From a section of the pyloric end (antrum pyloricum) of the stomach of the ends which provide for attach- rabbit: m.m., muscularis mucosae; t.m.c., circular layer of the muscular tunic; t.m.l., Meme mine attachme%¢nt-is effect="" qoneitadinal layer of the tuscular. tunic: edebyearstrons band? of fibrous). ‘ay Ce Snbmucosa, connective tissue, the muscle tendon (Figs. 7, 34). Some muscles, such as those of the abdominal wall, are disposed in the form of flattened sheets, the ends of which are attached by broad, thin sheets of connective tissue, the apon- euroses. In unipennate muscles the fibres are attached obliquely to the side of the tendon, or in bipennate muscles to both sides, like the vane of a feather. In the so-called biceps, triceps and quadriceps muscles of the limbs, the origin is divided into two, three or four portions. The recognition of origin and insertion (p. 63) depends on usual but not invariable relations. The exact effect of muscle contraction depends as a rule on the relative positions of the parts and on the synchronous action of other muscles. A muscle like that forming the diaphragm does not 36 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. possess an insertion after the fashion of ordinary muscles; and in some cases, as in the intrinsic muscle of the tongue or the so-called orbicular or sphincter muscles, both origin and insertion may be absent. Involuntary muscle is distinguished by its white or greyish coloration and by its smooth or homogeneous appearance. It forms characteristic layers in connection with visceral organs or with the skin, and is thus much less individual than the voluntary muscles in its relations to particular parts. It forms the muscular portion (muscularis mucosae) of the mucous tunic of the alimentary canal, and also a separate muscular tunic lying in the outer portion of its wall (Fig. 16.) In the muscular tunic the fibres are arranged in both circular and _ longitudinal directions. Involuntary mus- cle also forms a small con- stituent of many organs, such as certain glands, in which contractility is not a chief function. It forms a large constituent of the wall of the mes Wi che ea or fe iene ore urinogenital tubes, particular- dendrites; c.g., chromatophile granules; nr., ly the bladder and the uterus. aie In association with elastic connective tissue it is an important constituent of the walls of the bloodvessels. Although there is an underlying community of structure in the walls of the bloodvessels, the two chief types of vessels, arteries and veins, present conspicuous differences, both in functional behaviour, and in their appearance in the dead animal. The differences are largely the result of differences in the relative amounts of the above- mentioned constituents. The arteries are thick-walled, elastic tubes, which, under the force of blood from the heart, first become greatly expanded, and then gradually contract, so that the blood is forced into the smaller capillary vessels. The veins on the other hand are thinner-walled, less elastic vessels, through which the blood is forced largely through the pressure from behind. In the NERVvVOusS TISSUES. 207 dead animal the arteries appear white, flat or collapsed, and empty. The veins on the other hand appear large and dark on account of their distension with blood. 4. Nervous Tissues. Nervous tissues form the basis of the central nervous system and of the outlying nerves and ganglia. They comprise two kinds of elements—nerve cells and nerve fibres. In the central nervous system these elements are imbedded in a mass of neutral tissue, the neuroglia. Nerve cells are characteristic of the central nervous system and of the spina! and sympathe- tic ganglia. They differ greatly in form, but typically each consists of a cell-body (Fig. 17) bearing two kinds of processes—a fibre-process, the neuraxis or neurite, and a series of branch- ed protoplasmic processes, the dendrites. The cell-body is distinguished by the presence in its interior of granular masses, the chromatophile or tigroid bodies. The latter extend into the dendrites, but not into the neuraxis. The dendrites may be greatly elaborated, and may be Pee che PerD samt ot present to a considerable number. The neuraxis two, medullated nerve- fibres from the sciatic is a nerve fibre process. Since it continues as of the rabbit: a.c., axial cord; m.s., myelin the central portion or axial cord of a nerve fibre, pices luce oer it may traverse a relatively enormous distance _nevzilemma; nr. node on its way to a peripheral organ. A nerve fibre consists of a central core, the axial cord, enclosed, except in the case of those of the olfactory nerve, by certain mem- branes. Two kinds of fibres are distinguished—medullated fibres, and non-medullated fibres. The former are characteristic of the peripheral nerves. In these (Fig. 18) the axial cord is sur- rounded by a comparatively thick membrane of fatty material, the medullary or myelin sheath. The latter is continuous except at certain points, the nodes of Ranvier, where the axial cord appears free except for an external investment of the whole fibre, the neurilemma. \ ‘. Ae 38 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. In the non-medullated nerve fibres the myelin sheath is lacking. This type of fibre is chiefly distributed in connection with the sympathetic system. A nerve is an association of nerve fibres, the latter being disposed in a parallel fashion and united together into bundles of larger or smaller size by connective tissue, which also forms a general peripheral investment, the epineurium. The dead-white coloration of a nerve is due to the fatty materials of the myelin sheaths, but nerves are commonly found imbedded in a fatty con- nective tissue which is associated with the epineurium and is also of white coloration. Nerve fibres, and also nerves, are distinguished functionally as afferent and efferent. They are organs of conducuon, which carry impulses either from the peri- pheral parts of the body to the central nervous system, or in the oppo- a site direction. Sensory fn.a nerves are afferent, while Fic. 19. Section of the spinal cord of the rabbit: motor nerves aro efier- c., central canal; f.m.a., anterior median fissure; s.m.p., ; posterior median sulcus; f.a., f.l., and f.p., anterior, ent. Nerves, however, lateral, and posterior funiculi of the cord; c.g.a. and - c.g.p., anterior and posterior grey columns (horns of usually contain both grey matter); r.a., and r.p., anterior and posterior nerve a roots; s.a., white substance. afferent and efferent fibres and are hence described as mixed. In the distribution of afferent and efferent fibres chere is a marked difference between the external or somatic portions of the body and the internal or visceral portions. Con- sequently, both somatic and visceral kinds of afferent and efferent fibres are conveniently distinguished. On account of certain differences in coloration, the cellular and white fibrous constituents of the central nervous system produce characteristic patterns where either one is concentrated. Thus the cellular material is greyish, and is hence distinguished as the grey substance, while white fibrous material produces when concen- BLooD AND LYMPH. 39 trated an opaque white appearance similar to that seen in the peripheral nerves, and is hence described as white substance. In the spinal cord (Fig. 19) the grey substance is disposed as a central core, the white substance as a peripheral investment. A similar relation is found in the basal portion of the brain, but the characteristic pattern in the cerebral hemispheres and in the cere- bellum is one in which the grey substance forms a peripheral, investing, or cortical layer. 5. Blood and Lymph. Blood (Fig. 20) is fundamentally a cellular material, but owing to the fact that the cells or corpuscles are contained in a fluid medium, the plasma, it does not take on the features of the ordinary tissues of the body. It is for this reason also that, notwithstanding its important function, the appearances pre- sented by the blood in dissection especially of preserved animals are negligible. The cellular Fa materials consist of (a) erythrocytes or red oe blood cells, microscopic circular discs of fairly definite though not rigid contour, containing in the adult condition no nucleus. They have a Borneo sthe BEI yellow color, which is due to the presence of —' ‘°°? Profle: haemoglobin, and which gives to blood its deep red color when seen in bulk. The haemoglobin is the specific carrier of oxygen which it combines chemically. Arterial, oxygenated blood is bright red, while venous blood is dark red or bluish. The number of red blood cells is relatively somewhat greater in the rabbit than in man, there being over six millions contained in each cubic millimetre. The cells are formed in the vascular area of the embryo, later in the spleen and liver, and finally in the marrow of bones; (b) leucocytes and lymphocytes, also termed white or colorless blood cells. They are amoeboid, nucleated cells, present in much O = ey & >» — =3 smaller numbers in blood, and in lymphatic vessels, and are formed in the lymph glands and spleen. They are capable of passing through the walls of the smaller vessels, and occur more or less throughout the tissues, where they have the function of carrying materials or of ridding the bedy of injuricus substances and bac- 40 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. teria; (c) platelets, minute nucleate amoeboid cells found in the blood stream. In all multicellular animals the tissues are removed more or less extensively from the surfaces of absorption and excretion. Blood and lymph are the media through which tissue metabolism is maintained, and the vascular system is the mechanical means by which the continuous circulation of fluid is brought about. The composition of the blood varies from time to time according to the individual functions performed. Oxygen and food materials are carried to the tissues. Carbon dioxide and waste materials of other kinds are carried to organs from which they can be excreted. Blood, however, has been shown to vary in composition in different species of animals, and to be chemically homologous in related ones; while it possesses immunizing properties towards bacterial diseases, also_differing in different species and individuals. TERMINOLOGY. In special or descriptive anatomy it is necessary to employ an extensive system of terminology in order that the various structures of the body may be individually designated, classified, and referred to their respective positions. The terms used for this purpose may be classified into four groups, as follows: (1) general terms— those included in the names of parts, but applicable in themselves to similar structures (arteries, nerves, etc.) in various parts of the body; (2) specific terms or names of parts; (3) regional terms—those defining areas (topographic); and (4) terms of orientation. Although few in number, the terms of orientation may be regarded as the most generally useful terms of descriptive anatomy. — This is because they are based on very general relations of the body and are therefore of wide application. For this reason they are here selected for definition to the exclusion of others of a more restricting or individualizing kind. In all vertebrates we may recognize a longitudinal axis, corresponding, in general, to the line formed by the vertebral column. In the usual or prone position of the body this axis is horizontal. The uppermost surface is then described as dorsal, TERMINOLOGY. 4I the lowermost surface as ventral, the sides of the body as lateral. Any position forward, with respect to the long axis, is anterior in comparison with any position backward, which is posterior. In relation to the long axis it is convenient to recognize a median vertical plane of section, which is one dividing the body into right and left halves; also transversal planes, which are planes situated at right angles to the median plane and to the long axis, and sagittal planes. The latter are vertical planes parallel to, and also including (as midsagittal), the median vertical plane. The median vertical plane is the plane of bilateral symmetry, each half of the body as thus defined being in a general way the reverse counterpart of the other. Structures situated in part in the median plane are unpaired, and are described as median, while structures situated wholly outside of the plane are paired, right and left, or dextral and sinistral. In relation to the median plane and to the sides of the body, structures are described as medial when nearer the former, and as lateral when nearer the sides of the body. The term intermediate is applied especially to a position between medial and lateral, but this restriction is perhaps not justifiable. In considering the extent of bilateral symmetry, it is necessary to bear in mind that, although a fundamental feature in verte- brates, it is not perfectly retained in the adult condition: Symmetry is destroyed by the migration of an unpaired structure from a median to a lateral position, as is seen, for example, in the case of the abdominal portion of the alimentary canal; or, again, by the reduc- tion or disappearance of structures belonging to one side of the body, as, for example, in the case of the mammalian aortic arch. Referring to centre and circumference, either in the body as a whole, or in particular parts, the terms deep and superficial, central and peripheral, or internal and external may be applied. It may be observed, however, that the terms internal and external are sometimes used in the sense of medial and lateral, both in descriptive language and in the names of parts. In comparison with the terms medial (medialis) and median (medianus) the term middle (medius) may be used to designate the position of a structure lying between two others, the latter being otherwise designated, for example, as anterior and posterior, or one _ in the median plane. 42 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. The limbs being more or less independent structures, it is proper to apply to them certain terms otherwise applicable to the main portion of the body. The chief terms not properly applied else- where are proximal, meaning nearer the centre or base ofsattach- ment, and distal, toward the extremity. In the middle segment of the fore limb the respective positions of the bones (radius and ulna) are indicated as radial and ulnar. The terms tibial and fibular are also applicable, although with less reason, to the corresponding segment of the hind limb. The dorsal and ventral surfaces of the fore foot are described respectively as dorsal and volar, those of the hind foot as dorsal and plantar. In determining the identity of structures in a quadrupedal mammal, considerable difficulty may at first arise from the fact that descriptive terms, such as those just defined, are frequently included in the names of parts, the latter being, at the same time, terms applied in the first instance to the human body, in which the recognized relatioris are somewhat differenc. In comparison with that of a quadrupedal vertebrate, the human body occupies a vertical or erect positioa, and is to be considered as having been rotated upward through ninety degrees on the posterior limbs. The latter accordingly occupy for the most part their original position, and the human arm largely reassumes this position when allowed to hang freely at the side of the body. As in all cases, the face retains its forward direction. Thus the terms anterior and posterior as used in human anatomy mean ventral and dorsal, provided they refer to parts of the body, such as the entire trunk region, which have been affected by rotation. The terms superior and inferior as applied to man are similarly anterior and posterior as applied to a lower form. Since it is unwise to change the form of the official terms of human anatomy, it becomes necessary to interpret all such terms when used for a quadrupedal mammal according to the relations exhibited by man. The human terms may in most cases be translated into terms acceptable for com- parative anatomy by reading ventral for anterior, dorsal for posterior, cranial or oral for superior, and caudal or aboral for inferior. The exceptions then apply to those parts of the body unaffected by rotation. THE GROUND PLAN OF ORGAN SYSTEMS. 43 On the other hand in ordinary description of organs and their position, where it is not a matter of the official names of parts, little advantage is to be gained from adherence to this principle. The terms anterior and posterior apply with much greater force to a lower vertebrate, than to man, while the terms superior and inferior are only of interest in the latter. In this case the rule here followed is to use the terms anterior and posterior for descriptive purposes without reference to the human relation. The same remark applies to the terms of direction, viz., upward, downward, forward, and backward. In this connection it may be pointed out that the custom has become more or less general in comparative anatomy of employ- ing the termination ad with words otherwise signifying position alone, in order to indicate position or course toward, e.g., dorsad = dorsalward. In the present case this form is used only for course, position being indicated by the adverbial termination ly, e.g., dorsally. Reference may also be made here to the fact that the human structures to which identifying names are applied frequently fail in one way or another to correspond to structures in a lower form. Composite structures to which individualizing names are applied, for example, may be represented by independent parts. Also, structures which are similar in form or function may be convergent. Finally, although it is essential to endeavour to apply all terms as accurately as possible, it will be remembered that a terminology primarily arranged for one type cannot be exactly applied to another without considerable qualification. THE GENERAL FEATURES AND GROUND PLAN OF THE ORGAN SYSTEMS. It has already been stated as a general principle that the structure of an organism is the expression of an underlying plan and pattern, in the elaboration of which embryonic development and ancestry play a very large part. How, asa matter of interpretation, the comparative method is applied, may be demonstrated by reference to any part of the body of an animal; and in the following pages will be found, under the head of the respective systems, a 44 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. preliminary statement of how certain outstanding features of the rabbit may be explained, as to the nature of their origin, and what grades of organization they may be presumed to illustrate. It will be recognized that the mammals are in most respects less specialized than man, and must accordingly show in their grades of organization various stages through which man must be assumed to have passed. CLASSIFICATION OF THE ORGAN SYSTEMS. The term organ-system is employed in descriptive anatomy to designate a group of organs which cooperate in.a general function. In many respects the systems represent primitive functions, and it is therefore largely on account of the independent elaboration of these that the systems may be recognized also on a structural basis as groups of organs allied in origin and development. The exact number of systems recognized depends on certain arbitrary distinctions, the following being those usually distinguished: (1) The integumentary system, comprising the skin, and its appendages, namely, the hairs and the general cutaneous, mammary, and inguinal glands. (2) The skeletal system, comprising the cartilage and bone elements of the skeleton, with their connections. ‘ (3) The muscular system, comprising all contractile structures of the body. Since, however, the involuntary muscles are arranged as muscle layers in connection with visceral organs, the muscular system is usually considered as including only the individual or voluntary muscles of the skeleton and skin. (4) The nervous system, comprising the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) and the peripheral nervous system, the latter consisting of the paired cranial and spinal nerves with their associated ganglia. A special portion of the peripheral nervous system is set apart as the sympathetic nervous system. The latter consists of a pair of ganglionated sympathetic trunks lying along the ventral surface of theverteb ral column, and of two series of ganglia, prevertebral and peripheral, connecting the trunks with the visceral organs. (5) The digestive system, comprising the digestive tube and its outstanding glandular appendages—the oral glands, the liver, and the pancreas. CLASSIFICATION OF THE ORGAN SYSTEMS. 45 (6) The respiratory system, comprising the lungs, and respiratory passages, namely, the bronchi, the trachea and the larynx. With this system may also be included the accessory respiratory passages formed by the nasal fossae. (7) The vascular system, comprising the organs of circulation, Fic. 21. Schematic representation of the chief organ-systems of a generalized vertebrate as seen in a transverse section of the abdominal region: Integument—int. Skeleton—yv., vertebral body; a.v., vertebral arch; c.v., vertebral canal. Muscular system—s.m., skeletal muscle; v.m., visceral muscle. , Nervous system—m.s., spinal cord, with the central canal, and the dorsal (pos- terior) and ventral (anterior) roots of the spinal nerves; g.r.p., ganglion of the posterior root; r.c., ramus communicans to sympathetic trunk; r.m.a. and r.m.p., anterior and posterior rami of a spinal nerve; t.s., sympathetic trunk. Digestive system—i. intestine. Vascular system—ao., aorta. Urinogenital system—k., kidney; go., gonad (ovary or testis). Serous cavity—c.p., general coelom, pleuroperitoneal, or peritoneal cavity; p.v. and p.p., visceral and parietal parts of the serous tunic—visceral and parietal peritoneum; mes., mesentery. namely, the heart, arteries, capillary vessels, and veins. The lymph-conducting canals are also portions of the circulatory system, but since they are largely independent of the bloodvessels, they are usually considered as forming with their associated lymph glands a separate lymphatic system. s 46 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. (8) The urinogenital system, comprising the reproductive and excretory organs, together with their common ducts—the urethra of the male and the vestibulum of the female—and the associated bulbourethral gland. The reproductive organs com- prise, in the male, the central organs or testes, and the deferent ducts, both of which are paired, the unpaired seminal vesicle, and the paired prostatic and paraprostatic glands. In the female, the reproductive organs comprise the paired ovaries, uterine tubes and uteri, together with the unpaired vagina. The excretory organs of both sexes comprise the paired kidneys and ureters and the unpaired urinary bladder. Certain organs of the body are not included in this classifi- cation: (1) The thymus and thyreoid glands are connected with the digestive tube in the embryonic condition, and_ for this reason are sometimes in- cluded with the digestive system, although in the adult they occur as independent structures. (2) The suprarenal body is situa- ted close to the kidney of either ee te Oa SE Be pen gee side, but is independent of the mm.):m., mandibular; h., hyoid; 1 and 2, first latter, both in the adult condi- and second branchial arches; a.l., antérior limb-bud; me., metameres; p.l., posterior +jon and in point of develop- limb-bud. (After Minot and Taylor, in Keibels Normentafeln, V.; Fig. 12.) ment. (3) The special (olfac- tory, optic and auditory) sense- organs of the head are highly elaborated structures, the relations of which are partly with the central nervous system. GENERAL ORGANIZATION. In the rabbit, as in all vertebrates, the general plan of organiza- tion involves three chief features, as follows: (1) Axial orientation. The axial line of the body is indicated by the chief portion of the skeleton, and the important organ- GENERAL ORGANIZATION. 47 systems are grouped in a characteristic fashion about it (Figs. 21, 23). (2) Metamerism. A large portion of the body, mainly dorsolateral in position, is arranged on a segmented plan, in which parts are repeated serially and longitudinally around and to either side of the original axis. Metamerism does not appear to any extent on the surface of the adult body, but becomes evident in Fic. 23. Transverse section of a rabbit-embryo of about 10} days, showing the arrangement of the organ-systems: ao., aorta; ch., not- ochord; coe., coelomic cavity; d.m., dorsal mesoderm (myotomic and sclerotomic divisions); e., primitive alimentary canal (enteron); ect., ectoderm; |.b., limb-bud; ms., mesenchyme; my., external portion of a myotome; n, nephrotome of embryonic kidney; intermediate mass of mesoderm; sp. and so., splanchnic (visceral) and somatic (parietal) portions of the ventral mesoderm. structure in the subdivision of the vertebral column into vertebrae and the paired, serial arrangement of the related spinal nerves, vessels and musculature. Metamerism is externally evident in embryos (Fig. 22) and is anatomically founded upon the serial arrangement of parts of the mesoderm. (3) Branchiomerism. This is an adult feature of lower aquatic vertebrates (Fig. 30), such as fishes, where it appears as a 48 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. succession of true gill or branchial structures, which support gill filaments as functional respiratory organs. In higher terrestrial animals it appears as an embryonic feature (Fig. 22, m.h. 1,2) and is to be considered both as a determinant of adult form and as a mark of aquatic ancestry. As in lower vertebrates, it underlies not only structures of branchial significance (branchial arches in the restricted sense, but also modified branchial structures, including the first or mandibular arch (m.), and the second or hyoid arch (h.). So great is the modification of these structures in passing from the embryonic to the adult condition that the recognition of the ground- plan is perhaps here of less general importance. It, however, determines the position and relations of certain skeletal structures, including the auditory ossicles, the hyoid, and in part the laryngeal cartilages—a point of some value in the classification of the parts of the head skeleton. It also determines the succession of certaia soft structures, including the fifth, seventh, ninth and tenth cranial nerves; also the chief arterial vessels of the heart, which are more fully referred to below. The fundamental importance of branchiomerism lies in the fact that respiration by means of gill perforations of the pharynx is characteristic of that branch of the animal kingdom from which all chordate animals have been derived. In the various invertebrate phyla are found respiratory surfaces of many kinds, in which, however, thin surface membranes, external tufted, or invaginated tubes and analogous structures, provide for diffusion without perforation of the body tube. EMBRYONIC PLAN OF THE SYSTEMS. In the individual organ-systems the main features of the general plan, as estimated on embryonic development, may be outlined as follows: 1. The formation of an axial skeletal support, consisting primarily of a strand of cellular tissue, the notochord, and second- arily of a segmented cartilaginous, afterwards bony, vertebral column. EMBRYONIC PLAN OF THE SYSTEMS. 49 2. The formation of (a) a primary cartilage skull (chondro- cranium) as a support for the brain and capsules of the special sense organs (neurocranium or cerebral cranium); and (b) a series of cartilaginous visceral arches (splanchnocranium or _ visceral cranium). 3. The formation of the chief skeletal muscle in a dorsolateral position along the axis. 4. The formation of the central nervous system as a tube of nervous matter (neural tube), lying on the dorsal side of the axial support, and differentiated into a general posterior portion, the spinal cord, and an anterior expended portion, the brain. 5. The formation of the digestive tube as a median structure, lying directly beneath the axial support, and of special glandular appendages arising from the epithelium of its wall. 6. The formation of the lungs as paired outgrowths of the ven- tral wall of the digestive tub-, afterwards connected with the out- side of the body by accessory respiratory tracts traversing the head. 7. The formation of the circulatory system primarily on an aquatic plan. This involves the formation of (a) the heart in a ventral position to the digestive tube and immediately behind the gills; (b) a ventral aorta, passing forward to the gills, and dividing into a paired series of branchial aortic arches; (c) a dorsal aorta, combining the aortic arches, and passing backward along the ventral surface of the axial support; and (d) a series of paired veins returning the blood from various parts of the body to the heart. g. The formation of the reproductive organs or gonads in association with the dorsal lining of the coelomic cavity, and their connection with the outside of the body by modified kidney ducts. 10. The formation of the kidneys, either as embryonic or permanent structures, from an intermediate mass of tissue, lying in general between the dorsal musculature and the lining of the coelo- mic cavity (cf. position of embryonic kidney in Fig. 23). 11. The formation, in the ventral portion of the body, of an extensive space, the coelomic cavity or coelom, afterwards differen- tiated into pericardial, pleural and peritoneal portions. “uoljeusisop S}T PAOGE UMOYS J[IIAV[D 9} JO UOT}SOd YT —*Sns1e} ‘13 $vIqdzI10A DTOvIOYA YIFJOMI'Z1} PII} ‘4 ‘Snipes ‘pa! qis yyy ‘4 { (@uoq [exoo) stayad ‘{d forqipuvur ‘ur !eiqoz9A requiny YUaAaes ‘L] ‘snisuny ‘ary :prody ‘Y tinuray ‘uy {[[Mys Jo uoys0d [elov}y ‘ey seinqy *}y ‘snaydorjsida ‘a {][Mys Jo uonsz0d TRIWRIO “1D FO[SIARJD ‘]9 +B1GazAVA [BOTAIVO YJUaAVS ‘29 sndieo ‘o {see ‘e:uojapoys ayy “hz “OI THE SKELETAL SYSTEM. 51 THE SKELETAL SYSTEM. ‘ The designation ‘“‘vertebrate’’ has reference to a common feature of higher animals, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals—the possession of a backbone or vertebral column, composed of individual segments, the vertebrae. Vertebrates VERTEBRATE ANIMALS. 2°: however, more properly described as animals having an internal skeleton. The vertebral column is part of the principal, axial skeleton (Fig. 24), otherwise formed by the ribs, sternum, and skeleton of the head. In addition to the axial skeleton, nearly all vertebrates possess an appendicular part of the skeleton devoted to the support of the limbs, or in terrestrial vertebrates, more correctly speaking, to the support of the body on the limbs, and to locomotion. In both fore and hind limbs, this consists of a proximal portion lying within the contour of the body and forming the pectoral and pelvic girdles, and of a distal portion, lying beyond the general contour of the body and comprising the skeleton of the free extremities. The limbs of vertebrates present an extraordinary range of adaptations, being modified in the various groups into fins, paddles, wings, and walking or running limbs. In the majority of cases their adh+rence to a common ground plan is evident from their composition. The vertebral column of the rabbit consists of 7 cervical, 12 thoracic, 7 lumbar, 4 sacral, and 14-16 caudal vertebrae. The vertebrae are found to be gradually modified from any intermediate part of the column forward or backward, but characteristic vertebrae VERTEBRAL can be identified for each region. The vertebrae REGIONS. are not arranged in a straight line; on the other hand, there is a curvature dorsad in the thoraco- lumbar region, and corresponding curvatures ventrad in the cervical and caudal regions. In fishes the line of the vertebral column is straight, and there is little indication of regional differentiation. The feature of curvature appears in terrestrial vertebrates, espec- ially mammals, and is related to the support of the body ina lighter medium. The curvatures are modified in man, in view of the erect position, in that there is a lumbar curvature ventrad counteracting the effect of the dorsal curvature of the thorax, while the caudal 52 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. region is reduced to a vestigial Coccyx, consisting of coalesced vertebrae. The individual vertebra is made up of a more massive ventral body, upon which is set a bridge of bone forming the arch. Both fi/ ons Fic. 25. Mid-lumbar vertebrae of bear (A, fifth), rabbit (B, fifth), and man (C, third): a, inferior articular process; c, body; m, mamillary and superior articular pro- cess; Ss, spinous process; t, transverse process. body and arch bear processes which reach into the surrounding muscles, and serve for their support. The principal processes are THE FORMS mid-dorsal or spinous, OF VERTEBRAE, !ateral or transverse, and, in the lumbar re- gion, dorsolateral or mamillary. Gener- ally speaking every vertebra has three principal functions—to support the body, to protect the spinal cord, and to offer support for muscles. Any vertebra of the rabbit may be com- WiG.26. Lumbar-vertebra of Dated with the: corresponding ‘vertebrasot four-day ‘ord rabbit; tulaee any mammal or in a general way with those of any vertebrate. The fifth lumbar vertebra of the rabbit, for example, would be found distinguished by the great development of its processes, since the latter support powerful muscles used in leaping. The corresponding human vertebra, or the third as functionally more nearly equivalent, is weak in muscular expansion, but its body is massive for purposes of THE SKELETAL SYSTEM. 53 axial support. A corresponding vertebra of the bear will be found more or less intermediate between the two types (Fig. 25). The adult vertebra of the rabbit and of higher vertebrates in general is composed of bone. It arises, however, embryonically in cartilage (Fig. 26). The transition from cartilage to bone is CARTILAGE based on the primary condition in lower vertebrates AND BONE. in which the entire skeleton, vertebrae included, is formed in cartilage, and may remain in this condition throughout life. The axial line of the vertebrae in mammals passes through the central portions of the bodies. This position is marked, in the embryonic condition only, by the noto- chord (Fig. 23). Some of the lower aquatic vertebrates, such as lampreys, THE NOTO- exhibit the notochord in CHORD. both young and adult con- ditions, and~ show little indication of the development of the elements of vertebrae. Others of slightly more advanced position, such as_ sharks (Fig. 27), show the notochord, extending more or less to the adult condition with the vertebral elements developed round Tee Hine ASAD Ca b C of shark vertebra (cartilage about it. stage), from young specimen of Atlantic dogfish, Acanthias. i, The head skeleton Ona mammal, intercalary cartilage, complet- usually but inaptly called the skull, is a ig arch jt notochord wy body complex of individual bones and cartilage, the arrangement and functions of which may be determined with a little effort. The general disposition of the bone elements, demonstrable in the rabbit or any mammal is as indicated in Fig. 28. COMPOSITION Briefly, there isa linear series of basal segments, OF THE SKULL. Comprising from behind forward basioccipital, basisphenoid, presphenoid, and meseth- moid. The three first-named form the floor of the brain-case, while the mesethmoid forms the nasal septum. Associated with the basioccipital are paired, lateral exoccipital bones, and a supraoccipital element, together forming an occipital ring en- 54 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. closing the aperture for transmission of the spinal cord from the cranial cavity. The basisphenoid and presphenoid bear lateral expansions, respectively the greater and lesser wings, or ali- sphenoids and orbitosphenoids, which assist in the formation of the side walls of the brain case. The bone capsule (periotic) lodging the internal ear on either side is solidly built into the lateral cranial wall between the exoccipital and alisphenoid, while further forward the light scroll-like surfaces of the ethmoid bone, or ethmoturbinal, representing the chief portions of the nasal Fic. 28. Composition of the mammalian skull. Cartilage dotted, cartilage bone shaded, derm bones plain. I-XII, cranial nerves; as, alisphenoid; bh, body of hyoid; bo, basioccipital; bs, basisphenoid; c, canine teeth; cm, Meckel’s (mandibular) cartilage (1); e, mesethmoid; et, ethmoturbinal; ex, exoccipital; f, frontal; hy, hyoid (II); i, incisors; 1, lacrimal; m, molar teeth; mn, mandible; mx, maxilla; mt, maxilloturbinal; n, nasal; nt, nasoturbinal; os, orbitosphenoid; p, premaxilla; pa, parietal; pl, palatine; pm, premolar teeth; pt, pterygoid; sq, squamosal; so, supraoccipital; th, thyreohyal (III); v, vomer; z, zygomatic, capsule is attached on each side of the base of the mesethmoid The original proportions of the nasal capsule are however more nearly commensurate with the general cavity of the nose; and additional turbinal surfaces, comprising the nasoturbinals and maxilloturbinals are attached secondarily to the nasal and maxillary bones. To this foundation there is‘ added a series of enclosing bones, for the most part thin and superficial, but nevertheless making up the greater part of the facial portion of the head skeleton as opposed to the cranial or brain containing portion. The series comprises the interparietal (absent in the hare and many mam- THE SKELETAL SYSTEM 5 mals), paired parietals, squamosals, frontals, and nasals as roofing bones, and paired premaxillary, maxillary, palatine, pterygoid, and mandibular bones forming the solid supports of the mouth. Several lateral elements also take part, including the lacrimal, at the anterior border of the orbit, the zygomatic, forming the central portion of the corresponding arch, for pro- tection of the orbit and muscular support, and finally the bladder- like tympanic bone, which forms the enclosure of the middle ear and protects the delicate bones of the auditory chain. Fic. 29. Lateral view of skull of rabbit foetus, 45 mm. cb, co, cn, cranial, orbital, and nasal portions of primary chondrocranium; fr, frontal; i, incus; ip, interparietal; m, malleus; mn, mandible; mx, maxilla; na, nasal; pa, parietal; pl, palatine; pmx, premaxilla; sq, squamosal; st, styloid process; t, tympanic; zy, zygomatic; Born plate model, after Voit. An important though inconspicuous portion of the head skeleton is formed by the hyoid apparatus supporting the tongue, and certain cartilages of the larynx, with which the hyoid is intimately associated. The relation of this complex to the skull is indicated in a mammal by the suspension of the hyoid apparatus from its base. The malleus, incus and stapes of the auditory chain form with the elements just described that portion of the visceral skeleton as modified in the mammalian skull, with the exception, as described below, of certain replacing or derm elements also considered to belong to this division. 56 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. The skull consists primarily in the embryo of a cartilage trough, the extent of which is roughly definable as the area occupied by the occipital, anterior and posterior sphenoidal, and ethmoidal portions (Fig. 29.) As a cartilage skull it is designated as the chondro- CHONDROCRANIUM cranium, and after its conversion into AND OSTEOCRANIUM. bone as the osteocranium. It is no more than an enclosure for the brain, except that it has associated with it the cartilage capsules of the nasal, visual, and auditory organs, and, in the case of the first and last of these, the capsules are incorporated with the skull proper. Thus, the primary skull is designated as the neuro- cranium or cerebral cranium, io distinguish it from a second portion of the head _ skel- eton, the splanchno- cranium or visceral cran- ium, which includes the series of visceral arches suspended from the ventral surface of the neurocran- Fic. 30. Thechondrocranium and visceral arches 1um. The addition to the of the Atlantic dogfish, Acanthias: ca, auditory : e Ss capsule; ch, chondrocranium; cn, nasal capsule; primary head skeleton of a h,h’, dorsal and ventral segments of hyoid arch : rR (II); i, intercalary cartilage of vertebral column; large number of me mbrane m,m’, dorsal and ventral poitions of mandibular 2 oe sates arch (II), functional upper and lower jaws; malleus bones results Im more Or and incus of mammalian ear; or, orbit, depression for optic capsule; v, vertebra; I-5, branchial arches. less confusion of — the original divisions, since the membrane portions of the visceral cranium are, with the exception of the mandible, united by suture with those of the cerebral cranium, while the true cartilage or cartilage bone portions of the former, occurring as the auditory ossicles, the hyoid and larnyx (in part), although highly modified, remain in a more or less independent relation. The appearance of the mammalian skull during the later stages of foetal development is most striking, the cartilage mass of the chondrocranium, and the bones ossifying in its interior forming a foundation basal mass, from which are suspended elements of the same nature, principally auditory and hyoid, in a somewhat arch or rod like form. The auditory arch is formed by the two more lateral bones of the auditory chain, incus and malleus, of which the THE SKELETAL SYSTEM. 57 incus is attached to the skull, while the malleus is extended as the cartilage of Meckel almost the whole length of the inner surface of the mandible. The bulk of the skull is formed already by the surface elements distributed in the characteristic fashion, but as yet only loosely associated (cf. Fig. 29). This condition of the developing skull in a mammal finds its explanation far back in the history of the vertebrates and is only made clear by the study of some one of the lower fishes such as HEAD SKELETON OF shark or sturgeon. Ina shark (Fig. 30) LOWER VERTEBRATES. _ the entire internal skeleton is formed in cartilage which persists throughout life. The principal part of the head sk2leton is a massive cartilaginous box (chondrocranium), enclosing the brain, and including as a result of growth and fusion the nasal and auditory capsules. The eye capsules are free, and their accommodation at the side of the cranium establishes the orbital depression to be seen on the skull of all vertebrates. This type of structure is obviously the basis of the mammalian skull, except that in the latter the cartilage mass is at once more restricted to its basal portion, and is more specialized by its replacement by definite bone centres. It is, however, in respect of the visceral arches suspended from the chondrocranium that the structure of the shark skull is most illuminating. The first or mandibular arch forms the upper and lower jaw. Its composition reflects that of the external part of the auditory chain in the mammalian embryo, and establishes a fact, for a long time scarcely believed by zoologists, that in the history of mammals this arch has undergone a profound change of function. The second or hyoid arch, though developed to an extent out of keeping with the degree of development of the primitive tongue, is nevertheless obviously homologous with the Fic. 31. Shagreen denticles of the smooth _ dogfish, Mustelus; enlarged. hyoid arch of a mammal and in most sharks has an important accessory function in the support of the lower jaw. Following the hyoid arch are five ordinary or branchial arches supporting the filaments of the gills and serving as pillars of the gill apertures. These arches are then the parts of an extensive system out of which those portions of the laryngeal cartilage which are of visceral rather than tracheal origin have been specialized in mammals. 58 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT So far as the surface or roofing portion of the skull is concerned, it is represented in a shark only by dermal teeth or shagreena denticles (Fig. 31), uniformly distributed in the skin of the body, and concentrated at the aperture of the mouth into definite teeth lining the jaws. In sturgeons and related fishes, however, these structures are already concentrated into a definite DERM ee ae BONES. pattern of surface plates, having in general the same disposition as derm elements in the skull of all higher vertebrates, and distributed in sucha way that they form an almost complete enclosure for those parts of the chondro- cranium which they invest. The pattern of the dorsal elements is best indicated in fossil amphibia and early reptilia, in which the plan is almost diagrammatic. The elements of the head skeleton may be classified as follows: 1. The CEREBRAL CRANIUM (cranium cerebrale or neuro- cranium), including: (a) The primary cartilage skull (chondrocranium), en- closing the brain, and containing in its wall the olfactory and auditory capsules (embryonic) ; (b) The secondary bone skull (osteocranium), replacing (a) and comprising the occipital, sphenoid, ethmoid, inferior turbinal, and periotic bones; (c) The associated derm elements, comprising the inter- parietal, parietal, frontal, nasal, vomerine, lacri- mal, tympanic,* and squamosal bones. 2. The VISCERAL CRANIUM (cranium viscerale or splanch- nocranium), including: (a) The primary mandibular and hyoidt visceral arches (embryonic) ; ‘ (b) The secondary elements, replacing (a)—the malleus; incus, and stapes of the auditory chain; the hyoid bone and its connections with the skull; (c) The associated derm elements of the face and palate, comprising the premaxillary, maxillary, zygomatic, mandibular, palatine and vestigial pterygoid bones. *The identification of the tympanic as a derm element has been questioned. {The thyreoid cartilage of the larynx and its connection with the hyoid (greater cornu) are modified branchial arches, but the structure as a whole is not included with the head skeleton. THE SKELETAL SYSTEM. 59 As accessory structures the teeth of the rabbit present two mammalian features; they are heterodont, or differentiated according to particular regions; and the adult series, excepting those designated as molars, are permanent teeth, replacing deciduous, or milk teeth of the young animal. The condition is thus de- scribed as diphyodont in comparison with that in lower verte- brates, where there is usually a multiple tooth change, new teeth being developed as required (polyphyodont type). Moreover, in the rabbit, as in all mammalia, the number is restricted, so that, considering the differentiation of the teeth, it is possible to express their relations by a dental formula. Inthe mammalia generally the teeth are differentiated into incisors, canines, premolars and molars, and in placental mammals the full dental formula is indicated as i. 3,c. 4, pm. 4,m. 3. Inthe rabbit as in other rodents, however, the dentition is greatly modified by the elaboration of two pairs of incisors for gnawing and the corresponding obliteration of intermediate teeth, the place of the latter being occupied by an extensive gap, or diastema, in which no teeth occur. The dental formula of the rabbit is i. 2, c. ®, pm. 3, m. 3. It will also be observed in this animal that the absence of the intermediate teeth allows the lips to be approximated behind the incisors, and since in this region the lips are also provided with hairs on their internal surfaces, the oral cavity is separated almost completely from a small space enclosing the incisor teeth. This adaptation, however, is not so perfectly developed in the rabbit as in certain others of the rodent order. The human skull differs most markedly from that of the rabbit or other mammal in the enormous development of the cranial region, and in the anteroposterior compression of the face, with THE HUMAN which is associated, shortening of the Jaw region, SKULL. reduction of the nasal cavities and rotation of the orbits to a forward position. A most instructive DENTITION. feature is the re-adjustment of the axis, coincident with the assump- tion of the erect position. In both quadrupedal and_ bipedal positions the face naturally retains its forward direction. In most mammals, as in vertebrates generally, the axial line of the cranium, known as the basicranial axis, and that of the face, the basifacial axis, tend to be continuous or at least parallel; while in man, 60 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. or in related primates, they tend to form an obtuse angle which is progressively reduced from lower to higher types. It will be evident from a study of the limb skeleton of the rabbit that there is a general correspondence in structure as between its anterior and posterior divisions. This applies not only to the distinction of girdle portions, and the divisibility of the free extremity into. proximal, middle and distal portions, but extends to very many smaller details of composition. The relation in structure as between anterior and posterior limbs is described as serial homology, since two structures in the same animal cannot be homologous in the usual meaning of the term. THE LIMB SKELETON. The pelvic girdle is more uni- formly and solidly developed than the pectoral girdle, as shown by its strength in the three principal directions about the point of attachment of the limb, the great development of the ventral union, and strong attachment to =the \ sacrum. On the other hand, the pectoral girdle is notable chiefly for the strong development of the Fic. 32. Plan af the anterior limb skele- ton in walking vertebrates, the equivalent elements of the posterior limb indicated in brackets: si, scapula (ilium); pp, procora- coid (pubis); ci, coracoid (ischium); hf, humerus (femur); rt’, radius (tibia); uf’, ulna (fibula); rt, radial carpal (tibial tarsal); i, intermedium; uf, ulnar carpal (fibular tarsal); c,c, centrals; I-5, distal carpals (tarsals); m. metacarpals (meta- scapula as opposed to the weakness of the ventral, pectoral portion. In the rabbit the clavicle is at best vestigial, and in many mammals, such as the ungulates, it is entirely absent. In man, however, as well tarsals); ph, phalanges of the digits. 6 as in other mammals, many of them primitive, in which the pectoral muscles of adduction are well developed, together with the corresponding movement of shoulder and arm, the clavicle is both well developed and articulated at the two ends with the scapula and sternum. Both pectoral and pelvic girdles in terrestrial vertebrates conform more or less closely to a tri-radiate shape if the two halves THE SKELETAL SYSTEM. 61 are considered individually. The corresponding portions may be identified (Fig. 32), though in mammals the ventral portion in the case of the pectoral girdle is greatly reduced. Of the ventral elements, those commonlypresent in vertebrates are the coracoid, GROUND PATTERN which forms the posierior ray, and the IN TERRESTRIAL procoracoid, the anterior ray, the latter VERTEBRATES. being partly covered in front by a derm splint, the clavicle. This condition though not characteristic of mammals generally is_ still found in monotremes, and rudiments of the coracoid extension ventrally are A in mt Wwe of iit Fé if \\) 1 } tg | p44 | | | Sais, ( 4 \ | te H\ | W \\ | @ v@ \4 Ko H i I aes | ' \ re) vy af A B Cc Fic. 33. Homologies of the mammalian limb. A, fore foot, rabbit B, fore foot, horse. C, human hand. r, radius; u, ulna; I-V, metacarpa bones. identifiable in embryonic marsupials. Adult marsupials and placentals show only a small hook-like coracoid process, together with the clavicle in perfect or less perfect development. There is no more striking feature of homology than that shown by the free extremities in respect of the different forms of vertebrates. This is true homology because it concerns the resemblances, part for part, in the anterior or in the posterior limb of any one verte- brate as compared with the corresponding elements in the same position in other forms. The front limb of the rabbit (Fig. 33) is slightly elongated, and semi-digitigrade, making it a more efficient 62 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. organ for running, though not so highly specialized as that of the horse. The human hand retains a fairly primitive form as to its general proportions, but is modified into a seizing or grasping type, the thumb being opposable to the remaining digits. All three kinds of limbs are, however, in themselves, modifications of a primitive, five-toed limb, sometimes termed the ideal pentadactyl planti- grade type, in which the palm of the hand or sole of the foot is placed flat on the ground. The composition of this primitive limb, traceable in one form or another throughout the higher vertebrate ; and also the serial homologies of the parts are indicated in Fig. 32. THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM. The contractile tissues are not arranged in a definite continuous system as is the case with most other organ complexes of the body. Smooth or involuntary muscle fibres, modified mesenchyme cells of the embryo, which are under the control of the sympathetic INVOLUNTARY nervous system, form the muscle coats of the MUSCLE. digestive tube, and are important not only for its repeated, peristaltic movements, but also for its elasticity and expansive power. Smooth muscle is also a con- stituent of many other visceral organs, especially glands, in the active secretion of which it appears to play a mechanical part. It is further distributed through the walls of the bloodvessell, especially the arteries, where it forms the mechanical organ of the vasomotor function. This consists inthe control of the diameter of the vessels by vasodilator and vasoconstrictor nerves connected with the vague nerve and the sympathetic nervous system. The constrictive action is stimulated by secretion of the suprarenal glands. Vessel regulation of this kind is important, first, in maintaining tone and therefore pressure, and, second, in controlling heat loss from the surface of the body. Action of the vasomotor nerves may be demon- strated physiologically in a variety of ways. Transection of the cervical sympathetic nerve of one side in the living rabbit is followed by vasodilation of the ear, the congestion of which can be seen, and the heat loss is demonstrable by feeling with the hand. Stimulation of the cephalic cut end is followed by vasoconstriction. THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM. 63 Cardiac muscle, most nearly allied in action to smooth muscle is the mechanical organ of the rhythmical contraction or beat of the heart. The contraction takes place according to the succession of the chambers or the course of the blood, and the rate and strength of the beat is under the control of the vagus and sympathetic nerves, the action of which can be experimentally demonstrated. The excised heart in the case of lower vertebrates continues to beat for some time automatically or under stimulation. This behaviour has been interpreted as purely automatic action of the heart muscle, but may depend upon intercardiac nerve connections. The voluntary muscles of the body form the nearest approach to a continuous system of all contraccile tissues. They consist VOLUNTARY for the most part of parallel fibres, the association MUSCLE. of which into fasciculi is responsible for the appear- ance of longitudinal striping when the gross muscle is viewed from the side and more or less for the grained appearance of the cut surface. The attachments, usually of white fibrous connective tissue occurs as concentrated tendons or as flat thin aponeuroses. The control of action is exercised directly from the spinal cord. A typical muscle of the skeleton has the disposition of parts illustrated in Fig. 34 by the biceps (a flexor of the forearm) and the long head of the triceps (an extensor of the forearm). The fixed tendon, or tendon of origin, of the biceps is in relation to the A TYPICAL glenoid border of the scapula, the movable tendon, MUSCLE. or tendon of insertion, with the lower border of of the ulna. Noting the position of the muscle in front of the elbow joint, it will be seen that its contraction results in flexion, i.e., in bringing the forearm into a position nearer the arm, or of raising the forearm and hand from the ground. The analogous action of the triceps is similarly demonstrated, and it will also be evident that the immediate result of contraction upon the bones is limited by the form of the joint. In this case a hinge-joint confines motion to one plane, while in the case of the shoulder and hip, a joint of the ball-and-socket type allows motion on points at various angles to a plane according to which muscle or group of muscles may be brought into action. THE HEART. 64 ‘ ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. Voluntary muscle arises chiefly from the segmented areas or myotomes of the embryo. The extent to which segmentation is shown in the adult, however, depends for the most part on how far the definitive muscle is removed from the vertebral column or segmented portions of the skeleton. The vertebral muscles themselves show throughout their attach- ments to successive vertebrae the marks of segmental origin, but many others, such as those of the abdomen, to a certain extent those of the limbs, and those of the eye show practically no indications of their segmental origin. ORIGIN. While the bulk of voluntary muscle is skeletal, part at least is related to the skin. This forms a eutaneous sheet, divisible into the cutaneus maximus and platysma, commonly developed to a considerable extent in mammals, but reduced in man, and into the facial, palpebral, and auricular muscles of the head. The trunk musculature com- prises a special group of cervical and occipital muscles in relation to the neck and head, and the general series which - are more nearly vertebral. The appen- Fic. 34. Arm muscles of rabbit @icular muscles are distributed in from the medial surface, illustrating muscle action, flexionandextension. special groups connecting the limb as a b, biceps (flexor); tr, long head of DISTRIBUTION. triceps (extensor); i. insertion: o, . whole with the trunk and the various origin; sc, scapula; h, humerus; 3 . r, radius; u, ulna. segments of the limb with one another. As already indicated the skeletons of anterior and posterior limbs are considered to be equivalent part for part. This is also true of the related muscles, but the respective EQUIVALENCE positions of the segments of the limb in a OF LIMB MUSCLES. ™ammal are such that in examining the muscles, it is important to determine the equivalence of the bone surfaces. Since also certain conventional ideas of flexion and extension prevail in human anatomy, it is equally important to establish the corresponding relation as between man and a quadrupedal form. The homologous surfaces may be THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM. 65 determined by a study of the embryonic relations of the limbs, but may be referred more easily, if not so accurately, to the neutral plan as illustrated in Fig. 35. The neutral type (A) may be defined as one in which the proximal segment (humerus or femur) is situated at right angles to the median vertical plane, the middle segment directed down- ward parallel to the median plane, and the distal segment again at right angles to it. In this condition the bones of the middle segment are parallel, with the radius, or the tibia, according to the particular limb, anterior in position. The first digit is also anterior. The entire anterior surface is indicated in the accompanying dia- gram by shaded lines. The angles b and c are “extension”’ G Ur|p A ¢ | f Fic. 35. -Schematic representation of the respective positions of the segments in the mammalian limbs: A, neutral; B, anterior limb; C, posterior limb. Explanation in text: tr.p., transverse plane. angles; e and f ‘‘flexion’’ angles; a is an “‘abduction”’ angle, while d is an ‘“‘adduction”’ angle. In both limbs of a mammal, the entire appendage is rotated downward to a position more or less underneath the body. In the anterior limb (B) the proximal segment is rotated backward, the middle and distal segments forward. The two divisions thus come to differ from one another to the extent of two right angles. Also, in the front limb, the interesting condition is observable that the radius and ulna are crossed on one another, the position of the former being chiefly anterior, although its proximal end is lateral, and its distal end, like the first digit, medial. In the rabbit, as in most mammals, the hand is thus fixed in a prone position, while in 66 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. man the hand may be rotated to a supine position in which the radius is wholly lateral, or in which the two bones are parallel. In the posterior limb (C) all three segments are rotated forward. Consequently the bones of the middle segment retain their original parallel position with reference to one another. The extension angles of the knee and ankle are anterior, the flexion angles posterior. They differ from the corresponding angles of the anterior limb only at the middle joint, but here the difference amounts to two right angles. It will be observed also that the distal or ankle joint of the posterior limb retains a primitive condition, in which the foot is placed approximately at right angles to the leg; in other words, it is of a plantigrade type, one in which the sole of the foot rests on the ground. Thus the muscles described as flexors in the foot pass over the heel. They are functionally flexors of the toes, but extensors of the foot as a whole. Those described as extensors lie for the most part on the anterior surface of the tibia, and are turned from their original course to the dorsal surface of the foot. They are functionally extensors of the toes, but flexors of the foot as a whole. THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. There is probably no system of organs in which external form is so little suggestive of actual function as is the case with the nervous system. This is perhaps less true of its peripheral portion, con- sisting of nerves which can be seen ramifying through all parts of the body, than of the central portion comprising the brain and spinal cord. In examining the external form as a preliminary step to the study of the functional arrangements, it is advisable to bear in mind that the nervous system is a great correlating mechanism, consisting of central cellular portions, and of con- ducting paths to and from these centres to outlying parts of the body. In accordance with its prime importance and at the same time the non-resistant character of the tissue of which it is composed, the central nervous system is protected within the canal of the vertebral column and cavity of the brain cases. It is furthermore surrounded by connective tissue membranes of which one, the THE NERvousS SYSTEM. 67 dura mater, forms a tough external investment, while another, the pia mater, is a more delicate, highly vascular membrane lying next the nervous matter, and amply supplied with blood-vessels tor the supply of nourishment. The nerves, however, are distributed freely throughout the body, and though not so adequately pro- tected are more capable of withstanding mechanical stress, and are commonly found in connective tissue situations where mechanical injury is not likely to occur. Fic. 36. Plan of the central and peripheral connections of a spinal nerve: an, afferent (sensory) neurone; asn, afferent sympathetic neurone; ca, cp, anterior (ventral) and posterior (dorsal) columns of grey matter; en, efferent (motor) neurone; esn, efferent sympathetic neurone; grp, dorsal root ganglion; i, intestine (visceral. organs); m, skeletal muscle; na, np, anterior (ventral) and posterior (dorsal) rami of spinal nerve; ra, rp, anterior and posterior roots of spinal nerve; rc, ramuscommunicans (sympathetic) ; sk, skin; sp, white matter of cord; ts, ganglion of sym- pathetic trunk. Slightly modified, from Herrick. The most typical of the structural arrangements of the nervous system may be made out from a study of the connections of any one of the paired nerves of the spinal series (Fig. 36). In the spinal cord the difference in appearance as between the white and the grey matter has already been described (p. 39). A spinal nerve arises by two roots, one of which is dorsal and bears a small ganglion of cellular material, the other ventral and without a 68 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. ganglion. Impulses passing through the dorsal root are centri- petal or afferent in that they pass only in the direction of the central nervous system, but they are also in many cases sensory in that their effects may be consciously experienced. The most characteristic sensory impulses are those which come from the skin. Ina similar fashion the impulses of the ventral root are centrifugal COMPOSITION OF or efferent, in that they pass only in a ‘A SPINAL NERVE. direction away from the central nervous system, and are in most cases Motor in that their effects are commonly observed as muscular contraction. The two roots, however, unite immediately outside the spinal cord, and subsequently re-divide in such a way that three nerves are formed, each containing a proportion of both kinds of fibres. Two of these nerves, known as the dorsal and ventral rami and then distributed as somatic nerves to the body wall, while a third is distributed as a visceral nerve, or ramus communicans, having important se- condary connections in the sympathetic nervous system. Unlike the somatic nerves, which take a direct course to their terminations, the communicating rami of each side, unite in a position ventral to the vertebral column to form a longitudinal sympathetic trunk consisting of a connected series of ganglia. The latter is similarly connected witha prevertebral series of the ganglia, and through them with certain peripheral ganglia on the surface of the visceral organs. This system forms the sympathetic division of the peripheral nervous system. Its ganglia are nerve-cell centres, and its fibres, afferent and efferent, are distributed both to the visceral organs and to bloodvessels in all parts of the body. It is difficult to determine what portion of a muscular con- traction, even if considered to be purely voluntary, actually arises from an impulse originating in the central nervous system. The animal body, however, affords many indications of muscular REFLEX ACTION. actions as responses to previous incoming stimuli, without conscious experience as a necessary factor in the result. Stimulation of the skin, in verte- brates in which the spinal cord is divided, and thus separated from the brain, is followed by muscular contractions, presumably by direct connections of individual dorsal and ventral roots, or exten- sion of the stimulus to neighbouring roots. This is known as reflex action. Its nature and conditions can be determined by THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 69 using spinal or decerebrated frogs, but similar actions, of which the well-known scratch reaction of the dog is an example, are common to all animals. The spinal cord reflects in its form the ground type of the cen- tral nervous system. Developed in the embryo as a tube, it retains this condition throughout life. The cavity, however, is reduced to a slender central canal, lined by a thin epithelial membrane, THE SPINAL the ependyma, while through proliferation of its CORD. cells, and their fibre extensions, the walls become enormously thickened, and the nervous functions of the system, as a connected conducting mechanism, thereby established. The cord traverses the vertebral canal, showing slight Fic. 37. The brain from the left side: bo, olfactory bulb; c¢, cerebellum; fc, paraflocculus cerebelli; h, cerebral hemisphere; 1p, piriform lobe (olfactory brain); m, medulla oblongata; s, spinal cord. Numerals indicate the cor- responding cranial nerves; 2, optic; 4, trochlear; 5, trigeminal; 6, abducens; 7, facial; 8, acoustic; 9, glossopharyngeal; 10, vagus; I1, spinal accessory; 12, hypoglossal. enlargements in the cervical and lumbar regions in relation to the nerve supply of the limbs, and at about the level of the second sacral vertebra narrows into the slender, thread-like filum ter- minale, by which it is continued almost to the middle of the length of the tail. Superficial examination of the brain of the rabbit (Fig. 37) shows that its larger part is formed by the paired cerebral hemis- pheres. They are closely pressed together on the dorsal side but separated posteriorly on the ventral side. The external layer, important as forming the cellular cortex, is smooth in the rabbit as in rodents generally, but is corrugated in higher mammals such as the cat and dog, while in man it reaches a high degree of elabora- 70 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. tion. The anterior tips of the cerebral hemispheres in the rabbit are slightly expanded to form the olfactory bulbs, and the con- nection of the latter with the posteroventral portion of the hemi- sphere known as the piriform lobe is easily traced. This portion of the brain is chiefly of interest in mammals because of its relation to the olfactory sense organs and because of the reduced condition of the organ in man. The development of the cerebral hemispheres even in the lower mammals is such that important parts of the brain, notably the diencephalon and mesencephalon, are dorsally and laterally concealed. On the ventral side, however, the chiasma or crossing of the optic nerves is evident, while more posteriorly the divergent cords of the cerebral peduncles may be seen passing forwards in the direction of the hemispheres. The posterior part o the brain is formed largely by the cerebellum above, the corrugation of which is one of its outstanding features, and by the somewhat tapering brain-stem by which the brain is connected with the spinal cord. Its bulk is formed by the medulla oblongata, which is crossed in front by a bridge of fibres, not so conspicuous in the rabbit as in many mam- mals and in man, which is known as the pons and which connects the two sides of the cerebellum. These, the outstanding surface features of the brain, afford but a moderate conception of its details, the nature of which can only be made out by more thorough examination and by reference to the plan of development of the organ as a whole. Like the spinal cord, with which it is continuous, the brain forms primarily a portion of the neural tube, containing a central cavity or neurocoele, but unlike the spinal cord it is greatly enlarged and elaborated both as the general centre of the whole nervous mechan- THE BRAIN. ism and also the special centre of the nervous mechanism for a variety of functions connected with the head. It accordingly forms not only a more or less distinct division, known as the brain or encephalon, as opposed to the more general division, the spinal cord or spinal medulla, but is also divided into a series of paired and unpaired segments, containing divisions of the original cavity in the form of ventricles. The primary divisions of the brain are more or less similar and homologous in all vertebrates. The more elaborate condition of the THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 71 organ in a mammal may be explained by reference to the general plan as indicated in Fig. 39, which is based upon general features of form in vertebrates and upon embryonic development. For comparison in the gross the brain of the frog (Fig. 38) offers one of the best examples. The brain as first formed in the embryo appears as an anterior expanded portion of the neural tube, or rather as three expansions arranged in a linear series. They are described as the primary cerebral vesicles; or, as primary divisions of the future brain, they are designated in anteroposterior order as the prosencephalon, mesencephalon, and rhombencephalon. The first of the primary divisions, the pro- sencephalon, or primary fore-brain, becomes divided during development into two portions, namely, an anterior portioa, the end-brain or telencephalon, which is largely a paired struc- ture, and a second portion, unpaired, the dience- phalon, or inter-brain. The larger paired portion of the telencephalon is the basis of the cerebral hemispheres. It contains, as divisions eer ea of the primary cavity, a pair of cavities, the of the frog from the dorsal surface. lateral ventricles. The anterior portion of the ©, cerebellum; 4, diencephalon; fv, telencephalon, moreover, becomes differentiated, fourth ventricle; h, cerebral hemisphere so that a small terminal olfactory segment, the Oe LS: rhinencephalon, is more or less _ perfectly marked off from the rest. In the mammalian brain this part is chiefly identifiable as the paired olfactory bulb, the latter being the anterior portion of the olfactory lobe or olfactory brain, and containing in its interior an extension of the lateral ventricle. The unpaired portion of the prosencephalon is considered as belonging in part to the telencephalon and in part to the dience- phalon. Its cavity, the third ventricle, is connected with the lateral ventricles through the interventricular foramen. Its anterior wall is formed by a transverse connection of the cerebral hemispheres, the lamina terminalis. In all vertebrates this portion of the brain is remarkable for the manner in which its wall is differentiated. The ventral portion extends downward as a 72 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. slender funnel-like structure, the infundibulum, the tip of the latter being in contact with the pituitary body or hypophysis and its base connected with a small grey elevation, the tuber cinereum. Fic. 39. Plan of the divisions of the vertebrate brain: A, embryonic; B, adult, projection from dorsal surface; C, adult, sagittal section. The contour of the mammalian brain is indicated by broken lines. 2 Primary divisions—PR, prosencephalon; T, telencephalon; DI, diencep- halon; MS, mesencephalon; RH, rhombencephalon; MT, metencephalon; MY, myelencephalon; S, spinal cord. a.c., cerebral aqueduct; b.o., olfactory bulb; c., corpora quadrigemina; cb., cerebellum; c.m., mamillary body; c.o., optic chiasma; c.p., pineal body; f.i., interventricular foramen; h., hypophysis; h.c., cerebral hemisphere; in., infundibulum; |.t., lamina terminalis; p., pons; pl., chorioid plexus of third ventricle; p.c., cerebral peduncle; t., thalamus, also indicates position of massa intermedia; v.l., lateral ventricle; v.m.p., posterior medullary velum; v.q., fourth ventricle. Its cavity is the recessus infundibuli. Immediately in front of the infundibulum the ventral portions of the optic tracts join to form the optic chiasma, and immediately behind it the floor is ht THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 73 thickened, forming externally a pair of rounded protuberances, the mamillary bodies. In the brain of the rabbit this structure consists superficially of a larger median portion with faint lateral elevations appended to it. Collectively, these structures are considered to form a major division, the hypothalamus, the latter consisting of two portions, namely, an optic portion, comprising the infundibulum, tuber cinereum, and the optic chiasma, and a mamillary portion, including the mamillary bodies. The two portions are commonly classified as belonging respectively to the telencephalon and the diencephalon, but embryological study places the boundary of these of the latter divisions at the optic recess or roughly at the point of the optic chiasma. The more dorsal portion of the diencephalon, containing the major part of the third ventricle, is known as the thalamence- phalon. Its lateral walls are greatly thickened, while its roof is extremely thin, especially in its anterior part. Here the actual roof of the ventricle is formed only of a thin layer of tissue, the epithelial chorioid lamina, but the latter has associated with it a series of vascular ingrowths of the investing pia mater, the latter being described in this relation as the chorioid web (tela chorioidea). The two structures together form a chorioid plexus. This extends downward into the third ventricle, reaching out also into the lateral ventricles. The dorsal portion of the thalamencephalon bears posteriorly the pineal body, the latter together with certain related structures, the habenulae and habenular commissure, forming the epithalamus. The general portion of the thalamencephalon bordering the third ventricle, and broadly connected across the latter by the massa intermedia, is the thalamus. In the brain of the rabbit it will be seen that the thalamus is chiefly indicated externally by a rounded protuberance, the pulvinar. ‘The latter is dorsal in position and is imperfectly marked off from a second protuberance, the lateral geniculate body, lying on its postero- lateral side. To the medial side of this is a third protuberance, the medial geniculate body. The medial and lateral geniculate bodies as thus defined constitute the metathalamus (Fig. 84). The second of the primary divisions, the mesencephalon, or mid-brain, is noteworthy in a mammal as lacking a ventricle. 74 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. Its cavity is a narrow canal, the cerebral aqueduct, leading from the third ventricle backward to the fourth ventricle, or cavity of the rhombencephalon. Externally, its roof is differentiated into four rounded elevations, the corpora quadrigemina, of which the anterior pair are much larger than the posterior ones. Its floor is chiefly formed by a pair of divergent cords, the cerebral pe- duncles. The parts of the mesencephalon and prosencephalon together constitute the large brain, or cerebrum. The third primary division, the rhombencephalon, or primary hind-brain, is a greatly elaborated portion from which arise the majority of the cranial nerves. The constricted area joining it with the mesencephalon is known as the isthmus rhombencephaili. It includes the anterior medullary velum and brachia con- junctiva (Fig. 86). The rhombencephalon itself is divisible into two portions, especially well defined in the mamalia, namely, the metencephalon, or hind-brain, and the myelencephalon, or after-brain. The former includes the small brain, or cere- bellum, and a ventral structure of a commissural nature, the pons. The myelencephalon is a transitional portion connecting the brain with the spinal cord. The cavity of the rhombencephalon is the fourth ventricle. It is a peculiarly shaped space, the floor and lateral walls of which are very greatly thickened, while the roof is for the most part thin. The roof appears at first sight to be formed largely by the cerebellum, but is in reality formed by two mem- branes underlying the latter. One of these, the anterior medul- lary velum, is connected forwards with the mesencephalon, while the other, the posterior medullary velum, covers a triangular space over which the posterior margin of the cerebellum does not extend. The posterior medullary velum has the same structure as the chorioid plexus of the third ventricle, but is much more poorly developed. Apart from its principal divisions, which, as indicated above, are more or less common to all vertebrates, the brain depends for its external form on the elaboration of certain parts in comparison with others. In the mammalia the cerebral hemispheres and the cerebellum are the chief form-determinants, although the pons and the corpora quadrigemina may also be considered in this connection. <. > Ph oe 75 THe NERvouS SYSTEM Cerebrum Se coo sajaunpad yp4gadsay Duimasippnb Dvéog40) snmp pyjid q SNUDIDYIDII NY SNUDIDY TL, snunjpyjoda FT SUOISIAIp JOUIL pue unypog ‘wnyprds sndsoy (uoyeydoououry.4) aqoy €4079D {10 “(ej eBu0]qGo vI]Npow JO ‘ureiq-191fV) - uojeydaousjaAyY | (ureiq-purH) uojeydaoud aI Suog { wWIN][aqa1a \ UO]DYGaIUaMDIDY T, (u1e1q-19]U]) ) uojeydoousiqd snueyey.odAy jo uoydogd KADIPIUD I snureyeyyodAy jo uoysod 94dQ (ureiq-puq) uoyeydaousya L, adaygstumay 1DAQa4aD (NOTVHdHON FY) NIivad HHL 4O SNOISIAIG AHL AO NV Id (ureiq-pury Aseutti) (A[DISIA [PIGa190 1O119}SOq ) uojeydsousqumoyy “TI ] (ureiq-prut Areuttig) (Q]ISAA ][P1G9199 I]PPIy) NOIVHdAONASTI, “TI (ureiq-a10fy Areuttiq) (Q[PISOA [BIGaIad IOlI9}UV) NOTVHdHONASOU ‘J 76 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. It will be seen also that the form of the brain is more or less depen- dent on the existence at certain places of well-marked flexures (cf. Plate II). The first of these, the cephalic flexure, is in the region of the mesencephalon, the anterior portion of the brain being bent downward; the second, or pontine flexure, is at the fourth ventricle; while the third, or cervical flexure, is at the point where the myelencephalon passes over into the spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system embraces two groups of paired and, for the most part, metamerically arranged nerves, namely, the spinal nerves—those arising from the spinal cord and leaving the vertebral column through the intervertebral foramina; and the cranial or cerebral nerves—those arising from the brain and passing through the foramina of the skull. Of these the spinal nerves (p. 68) are less modified, both in structure and distribution. The cranial nerves, those arising from the brain, and making their exit through the walls of the skull, are comparable in some respects to the spinal nerves, but in many ways are different in THE CRANIAL nature in addition to being in some cases highly NERVES. specialized. Three pairs, respectively, ol- factory, optic, and acoustic, or first, second, and eighth of the series are afferent nerves from the special sense organs of smell, sight and hearing, the function of the acoustic nerve including also maintenance of equilibrium. The third, fourth and sixth nerves, respectively, oculomotor, trochlear and abducent, are distributed as somatic motor nerves to the muscles of the eyeball, but also contain fibres of muscle sense. Of the remaining cranial nerves the fifth, seventh, ninth and tenth are branchiomeric. Although the connections of these nerves are not fully considered in the dissection as here outlined, their chief characteristic as branchiomeric structures may be indicated. The fifth, or trigeminal nerve, the nerve of the mandibular arch, arises in two parts, one of which, the portio major, is sensory, the other, the portio minor, motor. The portio minor unites with the third or mandibular division of the portio major. Thus, the terminal branches of all three divisions, ophthalmic, maxillary, mandibular, are distributed as somatic sensory nerves to the skin of the head, and, in addition, the mandibular nerve THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. wir distributes visceral motor branches to certain muscles (masticatory group, mylohyoid and digastric) regarded as belonging to this, the first arch. A visceral sensory connection with the mouth is con- sidered to be formed by the lingual branch of the mandibular nerve and by the palatine branches of the spheno-palatine ganglion. Both are, however, connected with the central nervous system through the seventh nerve, the former by the chorda tympani, and the latter by the great superficial petrosal. The seventh, or facial nerve, is the nerve of the second, or hyoid arch. It is chiefly distributed as a visceral motor nerve to the cutaneous muscles of the head, but contains also taste fibres from the tongue. The ninth, or glossopharyngeal nerve, belonging to the third arch, the tenth, or vagus, belonging to the fourth and succeeding arches in lower forms, and the eleventh, or spinal accessory nerves, the latter apparently related to the vagus as a motor portion, are distributed as visceral motor nerves to the pharyngeal and laryngeal musculature, and as visceral sensory nerves to various visceral organs, the ninth nerve supplying the gustatory organs of the tongue. The vagus contains a variety of fibres, both afferent and efferent, the former from the larynx and respiratory organs, the latter distributed to the organs of circulation and digestion. The spinal accessory has a characteristic distribu- tion to the cleidomastoid, sternomastoid and trapezius muscles of the side of the neck and shoulder. The twelfth, or hypoglossal nerve has the relation of the ventral or motor portion of a spinal nerve, and is distributed as a motor nerve to the muscles of the tongue. THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. The digestive system comprises as its chief portions the digestive tube and the digestive glands. The digestive tube is divisible into several parts, which, with the exception of the caecum and its vermiform process, are arranged in a linear series. The digestive glands comprise the oral glands, the liver, and the pancreas. They are parts of an extensive series of epithelial glands, otherwise contained within the wall of the tube, and for this reason not appearing as gross structures. 78 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. The parts of the digestive tube may be classified as follows: i ORAL "CAVITY: 5. SMALL INTESTINE. Oral cavity proper. Duodenum. Vestibulum oris. -Mesenterial intestine. Jejunum. 2. PHARYNX. Ileum. Nasal portion. Oral portion. 6. LARGE INTESTINE. Laryngeal portion. Caecum. Vermiform process. 3. OESOPHAGUS. Colon. Rectum. 4. STOMACH. The digestive system comprises a variety of functions, both mechanical and chemical, and connected directly and indirectly with the digestion of food. In the oral cavity solid food is com- minuted by the action of the teeth, and is mixed with salivary DIGESTION AS secretion, so that it is more easily swallowed A PROCESS. and passed along the cesophagus to the stomach. The secretion of the oral glands is thus important chiefly for its mucous element, but that of the parotid especially contains an enzyme, ptyalin, which is capable of converting starch into soluble material. Food is further reduced to a pulp-like mass in the stomach, while the gastric secretion, containing pepsin and rennin, exercises a dissolving action upon proteid, and a coagulating action upon milk. The liver secretion, known as bile, contains, in addition to coloring materials, salts which exert a splitting action upon fats. The pancreatic secretion _ contains a variety of enzymes, converting proteids and starches, and breaking fats into fatty acids and glycerin. The actions of the dissolving enzymes is successive, secretion being dependent to some extent on antecedent bodies by which the stimulus for secretion is determined. The preliminary processes of digestion refer in this way to the mechanical action of food passage along the canal, and to the provision of converting enzymes. Absorption, which the final object of the digestive process is accomplished chiefly in the large intestine through the bloodvessels and lymphatics of THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 79 the wall. The relatively great extent of the wall, including the enormous development of the caecum in the rabbit and other rodents, is related to the comparatively great bulk and low nutri- tive quality of the ingested food. In its most general features the digestive system is significant as an epithelial tube, in which the food is modified, by solution or otherwise, so that it is capable of being absorbed through the epithelial surface. In the form of the digestive tube as seen in a vertebrate, however, a number of gross mechanical features are evident, such, as, for example, the increase in capacity, or in absorptive area, through the folding of the mucous membrane, or the expansion of the wall; or again, the presence of a special muscular tunic, and its modification at certain places, as in the Fic. 40. Plan of successive embryonic stagesin displace - ment of the digestive tube and common mesentery from the midline position (man): a, tr, d, ascending, transverse, and descending colons; r, rectum; si, small intestine; st, stomach Modified from figures by Toldt and Hertwig. oesophagus, the pyloric limb of the stomach, and the first portion of the colon. Moreover, many features of the abdominal portion of the tube, and, indeed, certain of its recognized divisions, depend FORM AND on its relation to an extensive serous sac—in a SYMMETRY. ‘™ammal the peritoneal cavity. In this connection it is to be considered that the digestive tube is primarily a median structure. It has this relation in the earlier stages of embryonic development (Figs. 23, 40), and in many of the lower vertebrates it does not deviate to a great extent from a median position. In all higher vertebrates, however, the tube becomes greatly elongated in comparison with the cavity in which it lies, and 80 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. thus becomes extensively displaced to one side or other of the median plane. This development, while advanced in all mammals, may be said to reach an extreme in the herbivorous mammalia; and in many cases it is further increased by the independent elaboration of the blind intestine or caecum. In the rabbit the combined length of the small and large intestines is approximately eleven times that of the body. In considering the divisions of the digestive tube in the rabbit, the posterior, or post-cephalic portion, comprising the oesophagus and succeeding parts, may be distinguished from the anterior, or cephalic portion, the latter comprising the oral cavity and pharynx. The former is a free portion embracing the digestive tube proper, while the latter is a fixed portion exhibiting a variety of general mammalian features connected with the organization of the head. The form of the anterior, or cephalic portion of the digestive tube (Plate II) de- Fic. 41. The nasopharynx and related parts of the head as seen in median Section: 1, tongue; 2, hyoid; 3, tonsil; 4, epiglottis; 5, entrance to trachea; 6, entrance to esophagus; 7, basioccipital bone; 8, soft palate; 9, pharnygeal aperture of auditory (Eustachian) tube; 10, cranial cavity; Ii, ethmoturbinal scrolls; 12, nasal cavity; 13, nasal septum; 14, hard palate; 15, oral cavity. pends on its fixed relation with respect to the enclosing parts of the head-skeleton. In the rabbit, as in mammals generally, the oral cavity is divisible into two portions, of which one is the oral cavity proper, while the other, the vestibulum oris, is a space enclosed between the alveolar process of the jaws and the teeth on the one hand and the cheeks and lips on the other. As in other vertebrates, the tongue is a muscular structure projecting upward and forward into the oral cavity from its base of attachment on the hyoid apparatus, but its greater elaboration, as well as the differentiation of special processes, the circumvallate and foliate papillae, for the accommodation of the gustatory organs, are features of mammalian significance. The roof of the oral cavity is formed by an extensive palatal surface, PRINCIPAL DIVISIONS. THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 81 comprising the hard palate, and the membranous, or soft palate. These structures also form the floor of the accessory respiratory tracts of the nose, the posterior aperture being thus carried back- ward to a point more directly above the aperture of the larynx. Meanie yve 4 ee ey acne Fic. 42. The stomach, liver, and portal connections. Stomach: c, body; cr, cardia; f, fundus; py, pyloric limb; du, duodenum. Liver:ir, renal impres- sion; la, lp, anterior and posterior lobules of the left lobe; la’, lp’,anterior and posterior lobules of right lobe; Ic, caudate lobe; v, gall bladder. Vessels: d’, opening of common bile duct (shown as transparency); h, hepatic artery; p, portal vein; ve, tributaries of coronary vein. The ramifications of the portal vessels are indicated right (d) and left (s), The chief features of the pharynx depend on its relation as a common or general portion of the digestive tube with the tubes of the respiratory system. It is divisible into an oral portion, representing the direct connection of the oral cavity with the oesophagus, a dorsal or nasal portion, connected with the nasal 82 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. fossae, and also with the middle ear through the internal auditory tube, and a ventral or laryngeal portion, containing the aperture of the larynx (Fig. 41). The oesophagus is a slender but greatly expansible tube leading from the pharynx to the stomach. In its passage backward it traverses the neck and the thorax, and in both regions occupies a median position. In the thorax (Plate VII) it will be observed that it lies between the heart and the dorsal aorta, thus exhibiting the original relation of the digestive tube ‘to the aortic portion of the vascular system. The succeeding portions of the digestive tube are those associated with the peritoneal cavity, and with the exception of the terminal portion, the rectum, are displaced from a median position. Consequently, the divisions which are recognized are based partly on the differential characters of the wall, and partly on the position of structures more especially in relation to the supporting peritoneum. Thus, the chief features of the stomach (Fig. 42) depend on the expansion of the organ and the rotation of its pyloric end forward and to the right. In the intestinal tract as a whole the chief, although by no means most conspicuous feature of position, depends on the looping of the entire structure on itself, so that the terfhinal portion, chiefly the transverse colon, crosses the ventral surface of the duodenum and then turns backward on the dorsal surface of the mesenterial small intestine. The duo- denum is sharply marked off from the mesenterial intestine as an extensive loop, containing the major part of the pancreas and its duct, and lying on the right side of the dorsal wall of the abdomen. The common bile duct enters its first portion immediately beyond the pylorus. The mesenterial intestine is a greatly convoluted portion, lying chiefly on the left side of the abdominal cavity, and loosely supported by the broad, frill-like mesentery. From the pylorus to the sacculus rotundus there is no abrupt change in the character of the wall, although the first portion of the mesen- terial intestine, that designated as the jejunum, and the duodenum may be considered together as a more vascular portion with thicker walls in comparison with the second portion, the ileum, in which the wall is less vascular and more transparent. The main portion of the large intestine, the colon, although greatly specialized, may be considered to consist as in man of THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 83 ascending, transverse, and descending parts, that is to say the ascending colon lies on the right side of the body and passes in a general way from its point of origin on the caecum forward to a point where it becomes flexed to the left as the transverse colon; the latter crosses the body and is flexed backward as the descend- ing colon. In the rabbit, however, that portion definable as the Fic. 43. The caecum and vermiform process: c’, ¢’’, c’”’, first, second, and third limbs of the caecum; ca, beginning of the ascend- ing colon; il, ileum; pv, vermiform process (appendix); sr, sacculus rotundus. ascending colon is greatly elongated, and is composed of five principal limbs, united by flexures. Two of these, in dissection from the ventral surface, are concealed by the base of the superior mesenteric artery, since they lie on its right side. The descending colon is also only nominally related to the left side of the body wall, its supporting peritoneum, the descending mesocolon, béing closely connected with the mesoduodenum of the ascending limb of the duodenal loop. The course of the caecum (Fig. 43) as it lies in the body is comparable to two turns of a left-hand spiral, its blind 84 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. termination, the vermiform process, being dorsal in position and directed for the most part backward. It may be observed at this point that in their vascular supply the more typical divisions, namely, the transverse and descending colons, have arterial branches, respectively, the middle and left colic arteries, comparable to those of man; while on the other hand the right colic relation, on account Fic. 44. The heart and lungs from the ventral surface: ad, right atrium; ao, aorta; ap, pulmonary artery; as, left atrium; d, right superior caval vein; i’, i’, left and right inferior lobes of lung; 1, aortic ligament; m’, m’’, middle lobes; ml, medial lobule of right inferior lobe; s’, s’’, superior lobes; tr, trachea; 2 vd, right ventricle; vp, pulmonary veins; vs, left ventricle. of the great complexity of its parts, is represented by a large» number of vessels, branches of a common ileocaecocolic trunk. THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. In all air-breathing vertebrates the lungs (Fig. 44) are paired sacs which arise embryonically as ventral outgrowths of the digestive tube, and are secondarily connected with the outside of the body THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 85 through special perforations of the anterior portion of the head and through the oral cavity. The principal connection in a mammal is represented by an extensive nasal cavity bearing on its lateral walls the olfactory sense-organs. It is distinguished as an accessory respiratory tract from the true respiratory tract formed by the trachea and its terminal divisions, the bronchi. The respiratory system as represented by the lungs and related tubes, is nominally ventral to the oesophagus, but this relation is chiefly true of the trachea. In the thorax (Plate VII) the bronchi are, in general, interposed between the oesophagus and the heart, the lungs being expanded laterally into the paired pleural cavities. In addition to carrying air over the sensory, olfactory surfaces, the respiratory system has accessory functions in relation to respiration. The mucous membrane of the nose, including that of the turbinated surfaces, serves both to warm the air, and to remove particles of foreign material. The chief function is, however, respiratory. In a mammal, respiration is both a physicochemical and a mechanical process. The former is fundamental, and consists in the supply of oxygen to the blood, and in this way to the tissues, for the oxidative phases of metabolism; also in the discharge of waste RESPIRATION AS gases, principally carbon dioxide, from the A PROCESS. blood to the air. The absorption and transport of oxygen is a specific function of the red blood cells. Though the oxygen, of which a certain amount always remains in the lungs during the process of breathing, must pass through the thin epithelial covering of the terminal air sacs into the capillaries before it can be taken into the blood cells, the latter from their flattened shape and very great numbers present a relatively enormous surface for absorption, the process being thereby facilitated. The lungs themselves are highly elastic, expansible sacs. They have the structure of greatly ramified saccular glands, except that the free internal surfaces are every- where in contact with air. The division of the trachea into its bronchi, together with the bronchial ramifications, are the trunk and main branch portions of a rather complex system of tubes (Fig. 45), of which the terminal air-spaces are the final and func- tional parts. 86 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. What is commonly described as respiration, or the act of breathing, is a mechanical, muscular process accessory to respira- tion. It consists in the expansion of the thorax, so that a partial vacuum is created and the lungs fill with air, the expansion being followed by relaxation, in which the air is expelled. The first portion of this action, known as inspir- ation, is brought about by the contraction of the intercostal and related muscles, by which the ribs are raised, and by the contraction of the dome-shaped diaphragm, by which the posterior wall of the thorax is flattened, and incidentally the abdominal viscera displaced backward. Both actions tend to enlarge the thoracic space. The action of the diaphragm is controlled directly by the phrenic nerves, but all re- spiratory movements are de- Se pendent upon the cervical and thoracic spinal nerves, and there is also a respiratory control centre in the medulla. The expulsion of air, expira- tion, is accomplished without ‘muscular contraction. BREATHING. Respiration as a general Fic. 45. The larger terminal ramifications of function is common _ to all the left inferior bronchial ramus, from the dorsal 5 surface; metallic cast of the interior ; cf. Figs. organisms. Though always 44 and 83, i. : : constructed for easy diffusion, the organs by which the function is discharged differ profoundly in the various groups. This is true even within the limits of the vertebrates, where lower forms are characterized by gills for LUNGS AND aquatic respiration, and the higher forms by GILLS. lungs for air respiration. The occurrence of a great variety of intermediate and _ transitional growth stages, in which gills are replaced by lungs, with no modifi- cation from one to the other, introduces a peculiar condition into the history of vertebrates. This condition is characterized by the appearance of gill structures in the embryos of all higher forms (Fig. 22) and by the gradual elaboration in the series of air sacs from a simple type, as illustrated in the frog, to the greatly branched lung tubes of mammals. THE VASCULAR SYSTEM. 87 THE VASCULAR SYSTEM. In the rabbit, as in all vertebrates, the vascular system (Fig. 46) embraces a central, muscular organ of propulsion, the PLAN OF THE heart, and a series of branched tubes, the blood- CIRCULATION. Vessels, the latter being of three different kinds: (a) thick-walled, elastic, distributing vessels — arteries ; (b) microscopic terminal canals in the peripheral organs— capillaries ; and (c) thin-walled collecting vessels—veins. The chief mammalian feature in this system consists in the division of the heart into two portions, each consisting of a receiving chamber, or atrium, and a driving chamber, or ventricle, and the arrangement of their vascular connections in such a way that two complete circulations are established. One of these is the long, or systemic circulation. It is concerned with the distribution of blood to the various parts of the body, with the exception of the lungs. """~ It is established by the left ventricle, the aorta, the carotid and subclavian branches of its arch, and the parietal and visceral branches of its thoracic and abdominal portions. The blood is collected from the body wal post limbs anterior portions of the body through ee AG. NES AAI . . irculation. rv, lv, right and paired internal and external jugular and {eft ventricles; ra, la, right and . . . . . left tri SCH SD FEES il subclavian veins, communicating with the atves of gorta and pulmonary right atrium of the heart through paired Sioventricular ehh are superior cavals; from the posterior portions of the body through the unpaired and also asymmetrical inferior caval vein, the latter passing forward on the right of the median plane and entering the posterior end of the right atrium. The second, short, or pulmonary circulation, is concerned with the distribution of the blood to the lungs for purposes of aeration. It is established by the right ventricle, the pulmonary artery and its paired branches, and by the capillaries of the lungs. The blood is delivered to the left atrium through several pulmonary veins. head, ant.limbs -precardial sustemic’ lungs precaval vein---- 88 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. A similar division of the circulatory organs occurs as a homoplastic modification in birds, which, it will be observed, are also warm- blooded vercebrates. In general, the blood which is distributed to the various parts of the body passes through but one set of capillary vessels, and is then returned through the systemic veins to the heart. In all vertebrates, however, a special portion of the systemic venous circulation is set aside as the hepatic portal system (Fig. 42), distinguished by the possession of a second series of capillary vessels ramifying in the liver. Thus, in the rabbit, the blood distributed to the stomach, spleen, and intestine through the coeliac, superior and inferior mesenteric arteries, is collected into a main intestinal vessel, the portal vein, and the latter, approaching the liver through the lesser omentum, divides in that organ into a series of portal capillaries. The portal capillaries, like the systemic capillaries proceeding from the hepatic artery, unite in the tribu- taries of the hepatic veins. In lower vertebrates, although not io the mammalia, a second system of venous capillaries occurs in connection with the kidneys and is known as the renal portal system. The ultimate function of the vascular system is connected with interchange of materials in the tissues. This is brought about through the medium of microscopic capillaries, the gross parts of the system being concerned with transportation of materials FUNCTIONS OF from one part of the body to another. CIRCULATORY System. Lhe propulsive action of the heart is muscular and rhythmic, contraction, or systolic phases, alternating with expansion, or diastolic phases (cf. p. 63). The flow is maintained in one direction principally by atrioventricular valves of the heart, and by the semilunar valves the of the aorta and pulmonary arteries, though there are also valves in the course of some of the veins. The arteries are tubes with thickened elastic walls. They are expanded by the impulse of blood from the heart, contraction of which is followed by a pulse wave in the arteries. The passage of blood into the capillaries takes place more slowly and uniformly, while the arteries contract to their previous diameter. In the return of the blood the veins are largely passive, acting merely as closed channels connecting the THE VASCULAR SYSTEM. 89 capillaries with the heart. The control of the muscular action of the heart and arteries through the vagus and sympathetic nerves is an important element in maintaining pressure and tone in the vascular system (cf. p. 62). Many of the peculiar features of the mammalian circulation which at first sight do not appear to be general, but are so in reality, depend on the circumstance that the complete partition of the organs is a final stage of a general progressive development, observable in air-breathing vertebrates, in which the lungs and their vascular connections becom? per- fected for pulmonary respiration. On the other hand, the vascular system as it appears in the embryo, more especially its aortic portion, is arranged according to the type of branchial respiration as found in fishes. In this condition the blood is sent forward from the heart through a ventral aorta. The latter is connected with a series of paired branchial aortic arches, traversing the rudimentary gill struc- tures, and thus passing upward aroun the sides f Fic. 47. Planofthe branchial aortic PRIMITIVE th v d it d I Q arches. ‘ne adult mammalian vessels € rimitive la- are indicated in black (systemic) or AORTIC ARCHES. P Pp shaded (pulmonary). 1-6, primary rymx. The dorsal arches; ao., aorta; a.p., pulmonary . 7 . artery; c.e., external carotid; c.i., in- aorta is formed by the junction of the ternal carotid; d.a., ductus arteriosus (Botalli); i., innominate artery; s.d., branchial aortic arches, and passes _ right subclavian; s.s., left subclavian. backward as a main distributing erie eat oe vessel on the ventral side of the axial support. The heart itself is formed primarily on a two-chambered plan, similar to that in fishes, where all the blood is received by single atrium and is delivered forward to the gills by a single ventricle. The definitive condition of the chief arterial vessels is arrived at by an extensive modification of the branchial plan. As indicated in the accompanying diagram (Fig. 47) the arch condition is retained by the aorta and by the pulmonary artery, and it is interesting to note also that the primary connections of these vessels, represented in the embryo by an open canal, the ductus arteriosus (Botallt), is 90 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. indicated in the adult condition bya short fibrous cord, the arterial ligament. The adult aortic arch represents only the left one of a pair, and since that of the right is only represented imperfectly by the mnominate artery and the base of the subclavian of that side, a condition of asymmetry results, which is mainly expressed by the sinistral position of the arch with reference to the oesophagus (Plate VII). By comparison with the embryonic plan, it is seen that the primitive features of the heart and the arterial vessels include the ventral position of the heart itself, the equivalence of the two atria and of the two ventricles—these structures being partitioned internally but imperfectly divided externally—the forward position of the first portion of the aorta, and the position of the aorta as a median vertebral trunk. The vascular system is noteworthy for several departures from the condition of symmetry, one of these having already been mentioned. In addition, it is seen that in a mammal, as in terres- trial vertebrates generally, the base of the pulmonary artery (Fig. 44) is rotated in a spiral fashion about the base of the aorta, so that from its beginning on the right ventricle it passes across the ventral surface of the base of the aorta, and divides on the dorsal side of the latter into its two main branches. Moreover, the separation of the ventricular portion of the heart into two cham- bers is associated with an enormous increase in the muscularity of the wall in the left ventricle, or, in other words, in that portion which is concerned with the larger, systemic circulation. The inferior caval vein (Plate VIII), a highly specialized vessel, is asymmetrical, since from its beginning in the pelvic cavity to its termination on the right atrium it lies wholly to the right of the median plane. The azygos vein of the thorax (Plate VII), a. vessel uniting the majority of the paired intercostal veins, and interesting as a remnant of the primitive circulation, is also asym- metrical, since the trunk lies to the right of the bodies of the verte- brae, and is connected at its base with the right superior caval vein. THE LYMPHATIC SYSTEM. The lymphatic system, both in its functional relation and in origin, is an appendage of the venous portion of the vascular system. The system is an important one, of which, unfortunately, little THE LYMPHATIC SYSTEM gI may be seen by ordinary dissection, the structures which appear in this way in being the lymph glands, or lymph nodes, centres of cell formation, occuring in the course of the conducting vessels. These as superficial structures are found either singly, as in the head and neck, or more or less grouped, as in the axillary and inguinal spaces. As deep structures they are conspicuous in the intestinal mesen- teries, and in the walls of the digestive tube, occuring in the latter chiefly as continuous masses of lymph follicles, as, for example, in the walls of the sacculus rotundus, the vermiform process, or the tonsil; or, again, as aggregated lymph follicles (Peyer's patches) at various points in the intestinal wall. The conducting portion of the system comprises an _ extensive series of canals, beginning as lym- phatic capillaries in peripheral organs, and ending as lymphatic trunks which empty into the great veins. The lymphatic trunks of the anterior portion of the body are designated from their association with the corresponding veins as jugular and subclavian. They enter the venous system on either side at the point of junction of the internal and external jugular veins — semaie i SR : urinary bladder; cc, crura clitoridis; cp, ono the common jugular and sub- “Gira penis: hdd, ductus: deferens.” ep. clavian (Fig. 82). Shae Ree ay Sie asa: a Wikier lycnphaticuvessela ot! the Wa ceminalvescel yetvestinulum. posterior portion of the body, including the intestine, unite to form a common canal, the thoracic duct. The latter lies for the most part between the aorta and the vertebral column, and traverses the thorax in this position to enter the venous system at the same point as the jugular and subclavian trunks of the left side. The lymphatic capillaries are terminal, absorptive vessels, differing from blood capillaries both in the character of their walls and in their relations to other portions of the system, since they are not interposed as in the vascular system between vessels of a larger order. The lymphatic vessels connecting the capillaries 92 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. with the lymphatic trunks form extensive plexuses, in connection with which the lymph nodes are distributed. THE URINOGENITAL SYSTEM. The urinogenital system comprises two primary systems— reproductive and urinary—differing widely in their central organs, but associated to a certain extent by having common ducts. In the rabbit, as indicated in the accompanying diagram (Fig. 48), this association extends only to the presence in the two sexes of a urinogenital canal, or urinogenital sinus connecting both urinary and genital structures with the outside of the body. This canal is designated in the male as the urethra, but in the female as the ov Fic. 49. The principal stages in specialization of the female urinogenital ducts in vertebrates. A, frog; B, monotreme; C, marsupial. bl, bladder; cl, cloaca; k, kidney; od, oviduct; ov, ovary; r, rectum* u, ureter; us, urinogen- ital sinus (vestibulum); ut, uterine tube; v, vagina. Chiefly from figures of Gegenbaur and Wiedersheim. vestibulum, since the structure known from the human relation as the female urethra is only a urinary canal leading from the . bladder, and in man is not associated with the reproductive ducts. In primitive vertebrates (Fig. 49), the urinary and genital ducts open into the posterior end of the digestive tube, the latter forming URINOGENITAL DUCTS in this relation a common canal, the IN VERTEBRATES. cloaca. In terrestrial vertebrates, the urinary bladder is developed as a ventral outgrowth of the digestive tube, and, except in amphibians, both sets of ducts undergo a migration from their original position on to the wall of its canal, the latter being thus trasfnormed into a THE URINOGENITAL SYSTEM. 93 urinogenital sinus. This development reaches its extreme in the higher mammalia, where the urinogenital sinus is completely separated from the digestive tube, and where the urinary ducts are also transferred from a posterior or hypocystic position on the wall of the urinogenital sinus to an anterior or epicystic position on the dorsal wall of the bladder. The chief organs of the urinary system are the kidneys. They are paired organs, lying against the dorsal abdominal wall, approxi- mately in the position of the embryonic inter- mediate cell mass from which they are formed. That of the left side is displaced backward, out of the position | of symmetry, on account of the posterior development of the greater curvature of the stomach. The kidneys appear as solid organs, brownish in colour and bean-like in general shape, enclosed by a fibrous coat, and connected medially with the expanded end of the ureter. In the rabbit the kidney appears as an almost continuous mass, in which, how- ever, slight traces of lobulation can be distinguished. In many mammals, such as sheep and bear, the organ is THE KIDNEYS. Fic. 50. The left kidney, divic composed of distinct and separable ed horizontally lengthwise, cut sur- face of dorsal half. c, cortical sub- Iopiles «his condition isiclearly shown. Sence, ty medullany, ‘substance; i x : p, renal papilla; u, ureter. in the human kidney in foetal life, and though much more concentrated in the adult, the lobulated con- dition appears internally in the division of the ureter into several renal calyces, each of them connected with a corresponding renal papilla. When horizontally divided (Fig. 50), the kidney is seen to be made up of a more vascular and granular external layer, termed the cortex, and of a somewhat radially striated, central mass, termed the medulla. In the rabbit, there is a single renal papilla, and the expended end or pelvis of the ureter is undivided. Notwith- standing the solid appearance of cortex and medulla, the kidney is made up of a system of tubules, the relation of which to the vascular system and to the outside of the body is such that fluid materials FORM IN MAMMALS. 94 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. to be excreted may pass into them from the blood stream. The primary tubule (Fig. 51A) begins in each case in the cortical substance with a cup-like structure, known as a renal or Mal- pighian corpuscle, containing a network or glomerulus of minute vessels from the branches of the renal artery. The blood stream is thus separated only by a thin membrane from the cavity of the tubule, the wall of which is complete. The terminal parts of the tube system have a characteristic course in the kidney substance, which accounts for the difference in appearance as between the cortex and medulla, and are ultimately connected with common collecting tubules opening on INTERNAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION. e the surface of the papilla. The excreted fluid, urine, contains characteristic nitro- genous waste materials, usually urea, but in some cases hippuric acid. These mater- ials are formed in the liver and perhaps m elsewhere in the body. Like all other parts of the urinogenital the structure and embryonic development of the mammalian kidney affords a remarkable illustration of the extent to which the adult form of an organ is dependent upon ancestry. In the verte- system, Fic. 51. Kidneytubules. A, plan of arrangement in adult mammal: c, cortex; m, medulla; gl, vascular glomerulus; - tc, proximal convoluted portion of tubule; tr, proximal straight por- tion of tubule (Henle’s loop); tp, collecting tubule to renal papilla. From Weber, after v. Ebner. B, plan of a single primitive kidney tubule in lower vertebrates, glomerulus; np, nephrostome; cl, coelomic epithelium; t, body of tubule; d, longitudinal duct. brate phylum, three pairs of kidneys have been recognized. They occur in antero- posterior order in the bedy, either in embryo or adult, they are of increasing special- ization, and their order of appearance and functional value are directly associated with the degree of general specialization of the groups in which they occur. HOMOLOGIES OF VERTEBRATE KIDNEYS, Mesonephros, and metanephros. mammals, while the mesonephros is embryonic. These organs have been designated as pronephros, The metanephric kidney is characteristic of The latter is, however, the adult kidney in the frog and allied animals, its duct ia the male serving both as reproductive duct and ureter. The THE URINOGENITAL SYSTEM. 95 presence of this kidney in embryo mammals, together with its duct, determines the form and connections of the ductus deferens with the terminal portions of the urinary system. The pronephros, on the other hand, is a vestigial kidney in all vertebrates, but its duct Fic. 52. The male urinogenital ducts and related structures, viewed from the lateral surface. After Rau- ther: a., anal aperture; bu., bulbourethral gland; ci.c., corpus cavernosum; d.d., ductus deferens; g.a., anal (rectal) gland; g.i., inguinal gland; g.p., glans penis; par., paraprostatic glands; pr., prostate; r.,rectum; ur., ureter; u.v., urethra (membranous portion); v.s., seminal vesicle; v.u., urinary bladder. system, open proximally to the body cavity plays an important part in the formation of the oviduct in the female of all classes of vertebrates. The development of the kidney reveals a condition, also suggested in a less perfect way by the mesonephros, in which it is shown that the primary connections of the kidney tubules are 96 _ ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. with the coelomic cavity (Fig. 51 B). Their ciliated internal openings, termed nephrostomes, are not developed in specialized kidneys, but may be seen, even in the adult condition, in some lampreys, where they communicate with that portion of the body cavity enclosing the heart. In the rabbit, as in all mammals, the male gonad or testis (Fig. 55), in which the male germ cells, spermatozoa, are matured, is connected with the peri- pheral duct system (Fig. 52) by means of the epididymis and the ductus deferens, parts of the mesonephric connections of the embryo. While the ductus deferens is a single tube, the epididymis THE consists of an ag- TESTIS gregation of small AND _ tubules, lying chiefly IT'S toward the anterior puck end of the testis, but with the tubules not individually discernible. The testis is formed in the embryo Fic. 53. Thefemale urinogenital system: a, all vertebrates a associa- aorta: as, internal spermatic artery; au, umbilical tion with the dorsal abdo- artery; c, clitoris; gp, perineal gland; gr, rectal 4 * gland; h, hydatid of uterine tube; hr, middle minal wall, but in many hemorrhoidal artery; i, inferior caval vein; lo, ovarian ligament; It, round ligament; lu, umbilical mammals moves backward to ligament; ms, mesosalpinx; mt, mesometrium; SIN . 0, Ovary; ot, ostium tube; r, rectum; rp, peritoneal a scrotal position, either recess (rudimentary vaginal process); cu, uterine f i ie es AG Meat We artes re ees peciodically ge penn cary in the course of development. This change, known as the descent of the testis, is brought about through the agency of a muscular cord, the gubernaculum, the connections of which in the rabbit, are retained in the adult condi- tion. The migration of the organ determines a number of peculiar- ities in the relations of its bloodvessels and peritoneal connections. The female gonad or ovary (Fig. 53) lies on the dorsal wall of the abdominal cavity, thus retaining to a large extent the primitive THE URINOGENITAL SYSTEM. 97 position. Its gubernacular connections are, however, plainly discernible in the adult animal by the ovarian and round liga- ments, the latter being inserted into a small pocket of the abdom- inal wall simulating the testis sac. Though inconspicuous in gross size as compared with the testis, the ovary is concerned with the formation of cells of relatively large dimensions, the female germ cells or ova. These undergo their THE OVARY principal development as single cells in the AND OVIDUCTS. tissue of the organ, but at times, through rupture of the enclosing follicles, they gain access to the surface, and thence pass directly into the open mouth of the uterine tube. If fertilized, they begin their segmentation and further development into an embryo, the latter becoming attached to the wall of the uterus. A placental con- nection is formed by which nourishment is carried to the embryo, during the period of intra-uterine life, in the rabbit aboutchieny days. Wheresare «irene: Avuterus dunies B acerus bcos; © mwoleomiplete ter, thevcavis (cue oes oy Seeteae ; tubes us uteris: ties of which are connected distally with the unpaired vagina, and through this with the urinogenital sinus. The size and appearance of the uteri depend upon the age of the animals examined, and upon whether or not they are pregnant or have borne young. The uteri of pregnant females are greatly enlarged and vascular. They contain from five to eight young, the position of which may be easily seen from the expansion of those parts of the tubes in which they lie. The paired condition of the uteri in the rabbit is especially instructive because of its primitive nature as compared with that in many othermammals. Paired oviducts (Fig. 49A) are the rule in lower vertebrates, where the function is simply to carry the eggs to the outside of the body, This condition is retained with minor modifications to the mototreme stage of mammals, but in higher forms of the latter the ducts are successively coalesced. In marsupials there are still paired vaginae, while in placentals the structure is unpaired. In the rabbit, as in many lower placentals, 98 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. there are two complete uteri, and as an organ the whole structure represents the stage of uterus duplex (Fig. 54 A). A partly fused condition existing in some mammals, for example sheep, is known as uterus bicornis (Fig. 54 B), while the completely fused condition in man is known as uterus simplex (Fig. 54.C). It is characterized by the independent opening of the two uterine tubes into a single uterine cavity. The successive stages of coalescence are doubtless associated with progressive reduction of the number of young, the success of the species being determined by greater perfection of the placental apparatus. THE SEROUS CAVITIES. The organs collectively described as visceral are those associated with the serous cavities They belong to several systems, but present the common feature of being projected into the membranous linings of these cavities so that they are more or less completely invested by them. The serous sacs are extensive body-spaces, derivatives of a primary body cavity or coelom. They are usually considered as containing the visceral organs, but the condition is more accurately described as one in which the visceral organs encroach, chiefly from a dorsal position, on the enclosing membranes. The latter are thus divided into two portions, one of which is distributed as a parietal or peripheral layer, forming the enclosure of the sac, while the other is disposed as a visceral layer on the surface of the visceral organs. The serous sacs are enclosed by thin, moist, serous membranes, consisting chiefly of mesothelium, which give to the visceral organs their characteristic appearance. ; In lower vertebrates, where the diaphragm is absent or imper- fectly developed, the coelom is divided into two chief portions—the pericardial cavity, enclosing the heart, and the pleuroperitoneal cavity, lodging the remaining visceral organs, including in terres- trial vertebrates the lungs. In the mammalia the pleuroperitoneal cavity is completely divided into two portions by the diaphragm, the smaller pleural portion being again divided into right and left pleural cavities through the presence of certain structures filling the median portion of the thorax. There are thus recognizable in a THE SEROUS CAVITIES. 99 mammal four large serous spaces, namely, the pericardial peri- toneal, and paired pleural cavities. The pericardial cavity, the smallest of these spaces, is situated between the paired pleural cavities. Its enclosing membrane, the pericardium, forms a capacious sac for the heart, and is reflected directly over the surface of the latter as a thin membrane, the epicardium. The pleural cavities are those lodging the lungs, the latter being projected into them from a medial position. The lining membrane or pleura is divided into three chief portions—the pulmonary pleura, investing the greater part of each organ, the costal pleura, lining the internal surface of the thorax, and the diaphragmatic pleura, covering the anterior surface of the dia- phragm. The latter is broadly connected with the pulmonary pleura through the pulmonary ligament. The peritoneal cavity, the largest of the serous spaces, com- prises in a mammal a general portion, the abdominal cavity, and its posterior extension into the pelvis—in the male also into the sac of the testis. The general relation of the cavity to the abdominal organs is indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 21. Its lining membrane, the peritoneum, is divisible into two portions, the parietal peritoneum, lining the abdominal wall, and the visceral peritoneum, investing the visceral organs. Of the latter the kidneys encroach only to a minor extent on the serous lining, so that they are covered by peritoneum only on their ventral sur- faces. The digestive tube, on the other hand, is removed to such an extent from the abdominal wall that the peritoneum forms a complete serous coat, and is connected with the parietal peritoneum of the wall through a thin transparent membrane, the mesentery. The latter consists of two plates of peritoneum, enclosing between them a thin layer of connective tissue, the lamina mesenterii propria, for the transmission of nerves, bloodvessels and lymph canals. As indicated above, the relations of the abdominal portion of the digestive tube are greatly modified by its elongation and displace- ment from a median position. Thus, while in the embryo the common mesentery (Fig. 40) is recognizable as a continuous median vertical fold, in the adult it follows the convolutions of the 100 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. digestive tube, and is therefore considered as divided into corres- ponding parts. In many cases the relations of these are greatly complicated by secondary adhesions. In the rabbit the mesoduo- denum, mesentery, and descending mesocolon will be recog- nized as parts in which a more typical arrangement is retained. Moreover, in the anterior portion of the abdominal cavity the peritoneum is concerned not only with the investment of two large visceral structures, the stomach and the liver, but also with the formation of a lining for the posterior surface of the diaphragm. Thus the general condition is less simple than in the small and -large mtestines. - The peritoneum, passing from the dorsal wall, successively invests the spleen, the stomach, and the liver, and is reflected from the last-named struc- ture to the diaphragm and the ventral body-wall through the coronary, triangular, and falciform liga- ments. Its gastric portion is differ- entiated into the mesogastrium Fic. 55. Diagram showing the rela~ (phrenicosplenic and __ gastrolienal tion of the testis to its investments: a.i., inguinal ring; c.e., caput epididy- ligaments), the greater omentum, midis; cr., cremaster muscle; dd, ductus deferens; zg, gubernaculum; mes, mes- and the lesser omentum. Similarly, orchium; ptv, and vtv, parietal and visceral layers of the tunica vaginalis in the posterior part of the body the propria; pv, cavity of the vaginal*pro- Bs eae a a peritoneum passes from the rectum to the urinary bladder, enclosing also in the female the vagina. Ic is then reflected to the ventral body- wall as the middle umbilical fold. In the male, as indicated in the accompanying diagram (Fig. 55), the peritoneal relations of the testis are greatly modified by the migration of the organ from an abdominal to a scrotal position. The entire sac lodging the testis is an evaginated portion of the abdominal wall, and since in the rabbit the cavity is widely open throughout life to the abdominal cavity the lining membrane—that designated as the parietal layer of the tunica vaginalis propria— REGIONAL SECTIONS. IOI is continuous with the parietal peritoneum of the abdomen, and thus represents a permanent vaginal process. Like other structures of the abdominal cavity, the testis itself is covered by peritoneum, the latter being designated as the visceral layer of the tunica vaginalis propria. This investment is connected with the parietal layer by the mesorchium, and in the rabbit it will be observed that the latter is chiefly attached forwards on the dorsal wall of the abdomen, 7.e., in a position indicating the original situation of the testis itself. In the female the ovary is closely associated with the dorsal wall of the abdomen, and its supporting peritoneum, the mesovarium, is insignificant. Its duct in passing backward, however, becomes greatly displaced from a dorsal position, and thus comes to be supported by a broad fold of peritoneum. The latter is considered to consist of two portions, one, the mesosalpinx, being the support of the uterine tube, the other, the mesometrium, that of the uterus. The entire fold, however, forms a continuous structure, and is known in this relation as the broad ligament. REGIONAL SECTIONS. -The following plate-figures (I-VIII) are from characteristic sections of a rabbit-foetus of 56mm., and may be used either in connection with the general features of topography as outlined above, or for the identification of various minor structures appearing in the dissection. Certain points regarding the sections are perhaps worthy of notice. First, in the longitudinal section illustrated in Plates I and II it will be noticed that paired structures frequently appear; this being because of the fact that the section is not exactly median, at least in certain places. Second, in using sections of the foetus for gross anatomical features it is necessary to make allowance in some cases for the different proportions of organs, and consequent slight differences in position, in the foetal as compared with the adult condition. Finally, many of the features appearing in the original sections are such as could not be reproduced in the plates, although they are indicated in the accompanying skeleton figures, and may be referred to in this way. *SUOI}D9S aSJaASURI] SuIPUOd “SO1I0D JO SoA] 9}BOIPUT TITA-IIT ‘tuin}das [eseN “UINIURIOISeg * “APIABS [LIQ * ‘onsuoy * "RPoyORPIy * “snseydosay) * *purys snurAyy * “pe “UINUII4S * *APIARD [PIPIPOLeg * “e108 pue Jivayy * “APACD[RInIq ° “Suny * *(S[assoA pue pio> jo aseq) snoryiquiy * “IQATT ° *(uo1j10d o110J]Ad) yorurozs * *APIABO [RuIMIOpqy * OsrnNOo NAANAAA AdHa FANN *soulqsoqUuy ‘useIydeiq *(]B1q9}.19A01d) “91 O/ent udisuRs IJojJUusseu 1OLIadNS ‘vor “JUNI OfjeyzeduIAs Jo vIPsUPy ° “SIAJOg ° “OBIGOPIVA [VOTAIAD * *9RIG9}IVA DOVIOY TL, * ‘aeIqa}IOA Tequin7y * ‘uojeydsousjay * I €LVId UOA SNOILVNDISAG ‘uojeydsaous1q “uojeydoaouasa fy “uo|eYydaoua49 fT “uojeydadua[aA JV *pioo [euids - “APIABS [RIURID * *‘[Bues [R1qoIVA * ‘oinjzejnosniu yeuids * *YOOU JO Sosseul-jey * “Q[OSNUL SNUIIXVUT ShoUeIND * BN OS INO ao oko eo) H ‘AGO ¢ IWILNA AHL AO NOILOAS TVOILYAA NVIGUN V 103 . Transverse sinus of dura mater. Dura mater. . Pallium of cerebral hemis- phere. . Lateral ventricle. . Olfactory bulb. . Olfactory tract. 6a. Divided olfactory nerve in the cribriform plate. 7. Chorioid plexus of third ventricle. 8. Anterior commissure. Lan aon. wr DESIGNATIONS FOR PLATE II. 21. . Cervical flexure. . Central canal of spinal cord. . Hypophysis. . Frontal bone. . Nasal bone. . Nasal fossa. . Mesethmoid cartilage. . Cartilage of vomeronasal Posterior medullary velum. organ. . Premaxilla. . Nasopalatine duct and car- tilage. Oral portion of pharynx. | Epiglottis and epiglottic cartilage. Thyreoic cartilage of larynx. Laryngeal cavity. 45a. Cricoid cartilage. Oesophagus. Cricothyreoideus muscle. Thyreoid gland. 49. Sternohyoideus muscle. 50. Genioglossus muscle. 51. Geniohyoideus muscle. 4I. 42. 43- 44. 45, 40. 47- 48. 9. Thalamus. . Optic chiasma. Ii. Tuber cinereum. 12. Mamillary body. 13. Superior colliculus. . Inferior colliculus. 15. Anterior medullary velum. 16. Cerebral peduncle; cephalic flexure. 17. Isthmus rhombencephali. 18. Fourth ventricle. . Pons; pontine flexure. . Cerebellum. 38. 2 Sphenooccipital . Maxilla. . Hard palate (palatine and maxilla). . Presphenoid. . Intersphenoidal synchon- drosis. . Basisphenoid; hypophyseal fossa. synchon- drosis. Basioccipital. 38a. Supraoccipital. 39. 40. Nasal portion of pharynx. Soft palate. 104 52. Mylohyoideus muscle. 53. Mandible. 54. Occipital musculature, 55. Semispinalis capitis. 56. Rhomboideus minor. 57- Superior portion of trape- zius. 58. Atlas. 59. Epistropheus. ~ 59a. Odontoid process. 60. Third cervical vertebra. 61. Median vertebral vein. 62. Body of hyoid bone. A MEDIAN VERTICAL. SECTION OF THE HEAD. 105 O PI ONBPWNH DESIGNATIONS FOR PLATE III. . Nasal bone. . Levatoralae nasi muscle. . Nasal septum. . Nasoturbinal cartilage. Maxilloturbinal (concha inferior). . Nasal fossa. . Nasolacrimal duct. . Vomeronasal organ and cartilage. . Premaxilla. . Small upper incisor. . Large upper incisor. . Nasopalatine ducts. . Oral cavity. NO H NNN wn N Uw 106 . Tongue. . Vibrissae. - . Caninus muscle. . Terminals of superior maxillary nerve. . Buccal glands. . Buccinator muscle. . Terminals of inferior alveolar nerve. . Ouadratus labii inferioris muscle. . Mandible. . Lower incisor. . Meckel’s cartilage (primary mandibular arch). . Mentalis muscle. Ne THE II xLON. REC ASAL N OR ERI ANT CTION OF 4 I S TERSE SV A TRAN 7 lO DESIGNATIONS FOR PLATE IV. I. Superior sagittal sinus of dura mater. 25. Nasal tract; choana. 2. Lateral ventricle. 26. Palatine bone. 3. Cerebral hemisphere. 27. Oral cavity. 4. Pia mater. 28. Palatine nerve. 5. Frontal bone. 29. Sphenopalatine ganglion. 6. Cartilage of orbital wing. 30. Infraorbital vein. 7. Mesethmoid cartilage. 31. Internal maxillary artery. 8. Cupula posterior cartilage. 32. Maxillary nerve. 9. Obliquus superior muscle. 33. Maxilla. 10. Ophthalmic vessels and nerves. 34. Zygomatic bone. 11. Levator palpebrae superioris muscle. 35. Submaxillary duct. 12. Rectus medialis muscle. 36. Buccinator muscle. 13. Retractor oculi muscle. 37. Masseter muscle. 14. Rectus inferior muscle. 38. Parotid duct. 15. Sclera. 39. Facial nerve. 16. Retina and chorioidea. 40. External maxillary artery and _ vein 17. Vitreous body. (anterior facial vein). 18. Lens. 41. Platysma muscle. 19. Posterior chamber of eye. 2. Inferior labial artery and vein. 20. Anterior chamber. 43. Mandible. 21. Cornea. 44. Genioglossus muscle. 22. Ciliary body and iris. 45. Digastricus muscle. 23. Upper eyelid. 46. Quadratus labiiinferioris muscle. 24. Lower eyelid. 47. Geniohyoideus muscle. IV. A TRANSVERSE SECTION OF THE ORBITAL REGION. 109 DESIGNATIONS FOR PLATE V. 1. Parietal bone. 21. Longus capitis. 2. Transverse sinus of dura mater. 22. Rectus capitis anterior. 3. Superior colliculus. 23. Oral portion of pharynx. 4. Cerebral aqueduct. 24. Thyreohyoideus muscle. 5. Isthmus rhombencephali. 25. Sternohyoideus muscle. 6. Pons. 26. Greater cornu of hyoid. 7. Trigeminal nerve. 27. Stylohyoideus major muscle. 8. Basilar artery. 28. Lingual artery. 9. Facial nerve. 29. Hypoglossal nerve. to. Cartilaginous auditory capsule. 30. Tendon of digastricus muscle. tr. Cochlea. 31. External maxillary artery. 12. Basioccipital bone. 2. Stylohyoideus minor. 13. Tensor tympani muscle. 33. Styloglossus. 14. Tympanic cavity. 34. Internal maxillary artery. 15. Malleus. : E 16. Tributaries of posterior facial vein. 35- ae ane bone. 17. Squamosal bone. 30. Mandible. 18. Cephalic portion of median vertebral vein. 37- Submaxillary gland. 19. Nasal poction of pharynx. 38. Anterior facial vein. 20. Origin of basioclavicularis and levator 39. Internal carotid artery. scapulae major muscles. j f } IIo =GION. RE A TRANSVERSE SECTION OF THE AUDITORY IIt DESIGNATIONS FOR PLATE VI. I. Rhomboideus minor. 2. Superior portion of trapezius. 2a. Levator scapulae minor. . Splenius. . Semispinalis capitis. . Rectus capitis posterior superficialis. . Obliquus capitis major. . Arch of epistropheus. . Ganglion of posterior root. . Longissimus cervicis. O OIAMNHW ro. Longissimus capitis. I1. Vertebral artery and vein. 12. Longus atlantis. 13. Vertebral body. 14. Tansverse process (anterior root). 15. -Median vertebral vein. 16. Longus colli. 17. Longus capitis. 18. Fat-body. NNNNNNHNNHNH MIAMHLWNHHOO 2 30. Shieh 2 > 33. 34. 35. 36. 37: 112 . Oesophagus. . Inferior thyreoid nerve. . Inferior thyreoid vein. . Trachea. . Thyreoid gland. . Cardiac branch of vagus (n. depressor). . Sympathetic trunk. . Vagus nerve. . Common carotid artery. . Internal jugular vein. . Sternohyoideus muscle. Sternothyreoideus muscle. Sternomastoideus muscle. Descending ramus of hypoglossal nerve. External jugular vein. Basioclavicularis muscle. Levator scapulae major muscle, Cleidomastoideus.- Platysma. — Se VI. A TRANSVERSE SECTION OF THE ANTERIOR CERVICAL REGION. 113 eal DESIGNATIONS FOR PLATE VII. . Semispinalis dorsi. . Longissimus dorsi. Iliocostalis. . Spinal cord. . Ganglion of posterior root and intercostal nerve. Tubercle of rib. . Head of rib. . Sympathetic trunks, . Azygos vein. . Thoracic aorta. . Oesophagus. HOD MID nAPWNH 12a. Right and left vagi. . Lung. . Bronchi. . Branches of pulmonary artery. Pulmonary veins. . Right atrium. . Tricuspid valve. . Right ventricle. . Left atrium. . Left ventricle. . Pericardial cavity. . Pulmonary pleura. 34. . Costal pleura. . Bone ribs. . Costal cartilage. . Sternum. . Cutaneus maximus muscle. . Inferior portion of trapezius. . Rhomboideus major. . Inferior angle of scapula. . Latissimus dorsi. . Serratus posterior. Intercostales externi and interni. 34a. Intercostalis internus. II4 Wo . Thoracic portion of serratus anterior. . Obliquus externus abdominis. . Transversus thoracis. side eee . Pectoralis major. . Rectus abdominis. . Anconaeus longus (caput longum of triceps). . Extensor antibrachii parvus. 2. Anconaeus medialis. . Anconaeus lateralis. . Distal extremity of humerus. . Proximal portion of radius. Vil. A TRANSVERSE SECTION OF THE THORAX, O MI ONPWNHH . Spinal cord. . Vertebral canal. . Vertebral body. . Sacrospinalis muscle. . Quadratus lumborum. . Psoas major. . Psoas minor. . Sympathetic trunk. . Abdominal aorta. . Inferior caval vein. . Descending mesocolon, . Ureter. . Renal pelvis. . Renal papilla. . Left kidney. . Parietal peritoneum. . Visceral peritoneum. DESIGNATIONS FOR 18, Nw hd NNN DH & 116 CO MPIAMN SW PLATE VIII. 18a. Posterior and anterior lobules of left lobe of liver. toa. Right lobe of liver. . Obliquus internus abdominis and trans- versus abdominis. . Obliquus externus abdominis Rectusabdominis. 2a. Cutaneus maximus. . Middle umbilical fold. . Urinary bladder (canal of foetal allantois). . Umbilical arteries. . Duodenum, Pancreas and mesoduodenum. . Descending colon. . Parts of mesenterial small intestine. . Caecum, Z VIII. A TRANSVERSE SECTION OF THE ABDOMEN. II7 PART II. OSTEOLOGY OF] THE, RABBIT: For a practical study of the rabbit’s skeleton, a thoroughly cleaned, but otherwise rough, unmounted skeleton will be found most convenient. The skull should be divided with a fine saw at a little to one side of the median plane, or a second skull may be provided for this purpose (cf. Fig. 62). The most useful specimens for reference are: (1) a well-mounted skeleton of the adult animal, showing the-natural relations of the bones; and (2) a rough skeleton of a young animal of from one to five weeks, showing the primary composition of cartilage bones. For the special study of the skull (pp. 140-159) a disarticulated specimen may be employed, but the majority of the features may be made out in the intact or divided skulls. The general account of the skull as given below will be found to cover most of the osteological points noted in the dissection. DIVISIONS OF THE SKELETON. The skeleton is divisible into two main portions, namely, the axial skeleton and the appendicular skeleton. The former comprises the vertebral column, the ribs, the sternum, and the skeleton of the head; the latter, the supports of the anterior and posterior limbs, and the associated pectoral and pelvic girdles. THE VERTEBRAL COLUMN. The vertebral column (columna vertebralis) is formed of a linear series of segments, the vertebrae. In accordance with its function as a general support of the body, and also its relations with the nervous system and the spinal musculature, the vertebrae, with minor exceptions, are constructed on the same plan. Those of 118 THE VERTEBRAL COLUMN. 119 particular regions also present certain features in common, so that it is possible to classify them into cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, and caudal groups. A typical vertebra—for the characters of which any one of the Fic. 56. Representative vertebrae: A, atlas, anterior surface; B, epistro pheus, lateral surface; C, fifth cervical vertebra, anterior surface; D, fourth dorsal, lateral surface; E, F, second lumbar vertebra, anterior and lateral surfaces. a.a., anterior arch of atlas; a.p., posterior arch of atlas; a.v., vertebral arch; c.v., vertebral body; d., dens epistrophei; f.a.a., anterior articular facet of epistropheus; f.a.s., superior articular pit of atlas; f.a.s.’, superior articular. facet of epistropheus; f.c.i., inferior costal demifacet for head of rib; f.c.s., superior costal demifacet; f.c.t., costal facet of transverse process; f.d., fovea dentis; f.i., intervertebral foramen; f.tr.,foramentransversarium; f.v., foramen vertebrale; 1., lamina of vertebral arch; m.]l., lateral mass of atlas; p.a., accessory process of lumbar vertebra; p.a.i., inferior articular process; p.a.s., superior articular process; p.m., mamillary process; p.s., spinous process; p.s.a., anterior spinous process; p.t., transverse process; p.t., triangular process; r., radix of vertebral arch; r.a., r.p., anterior and posterior radices of transverse process of cervical vertebra; t.a., t.p., anterior and posterior tubercles of atlas. thoracic or lumbar series may be taken (Fig. 56, D-F)—consists of a basal portion, the vertebral body (corpus vertebrae), and of a dorsal, vertebral arch (arcus vertebrae). The two portions 120 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. enclose a large aperture, the vertebral foramen (foramen verte- brale). The successive foramina form an almost complete tube, the vertebral canal (canalis vertebralis), for the accommodation of the spinal cord. The body of a vertebra is a cylindrical, or somewhat dorso- ventrally compressed, mass of bone, which bears at either end an articular surface for attachment to the adjacent vertebra. The articular surfaces are borne on thin plate-like epiphyses, the epiphy- sial lines being evident even in older animals, especially in the lumbar region. The dorsal portion of the body bears on either side the pedicle, or root of the vertebral arch (radix arcus vertebrae), the dorsal surface of the body forming in this way the floor of the vertebral foramen. The dorsal portion of the arch, borne on the pedicle, is distinguished as the lamina. The anterior and posterior margins of the pedicle are notched, each notch or incisure being converted, through its association with that of the adjacent verte- bra, into a rounded aperture, the intervertebral foramen (fora- men intervertebrale), for the passage outward of a spinal nerve. The arch of the vertebra is noteworthy for its projections or processes. On either side is a horizontal plate of bone, the transverse process (processus transversus), and, dorsally, a median projection, the spinous process (processus spinosus), all three serving for the attachment of the vertebrae to one another by ligaments, and for the attachment of the spinal musculature. Special articular surfaces, borne on low articular processes (processus articulares), are found on the anterior and posterior margins of the arch. The anterior, or Superior articular surfaces are directed for the most part toward the dorsal surface, and are overlapped in the natural condition by the inferior articular surfaces, which are directed toward the ventral surface. A certain amount of movement is permitted by one surface slipping across the other, the mechanism illustrating the arthrodia, or gliding-joint. The cervical vertebrae (vertebrae cervicales) are seven in number. The posterior five are similar, while the anterior two are specially modified in relation to the skull. The posterior vertebrae (Fig. 56, C) are dorsoventrally compressed, their arches low, and the spinous process short. In the seventh vertebra, however, the spinous process begins to be elongated as in the succeeding thoracic a a re THE VERTEBRAL COLUMN. 121 vertebrae. In each vertebra the transverse process is perforated by a costo-transverse foramen (foramen transversarium), the latter serving for the passage of the vertebral artery forward to the head. Through the presence of this aperture, the base of the transverse process is divided into two parts, namely, a dorsal, or posterior root (radix posterior), and a ventral, or anterior root (radix anterior). The anterior root is a coalesced rib, and is com- parable in its general relations to the normal ribs of the thoracic vertebrae. The first vertebra is the atlas (Fig. 56, A). It is peculiar in lacking the vertebral body, the latter being represented by the odontoid process of the epistropheus (cf. Plate II); also in possessing special articular surfaces, and in having its transverse process greatly flattened in the dorsoventral direction. It consists of a ventral half-ring, the anterior arch (arcus anterior), a dorsal half-ring, the posterior arch (arcus posterior), with paired lateral masses (massae laterales) uniting them. The lateral masses also form the bases of the transverse processes. The anterior arch bears on its ventral side a small backwardly-directed process, the anterior tubercle (tuberculum anterius). A similar posterior tubercle (tuberculum posterius) on the dorsal surface of the posterior arch is comparable to the spinous process of an ordinary vertebra. The anterior surface of the atlas bears on either side an extensive concave smooth surface, the superior articular pit (fovea articularis superior), for articulation with the convex occipital condyles of the skull. lis posterior surface bears on either side a somewhat triangular inferior articular facet (facies articularis inferior) for articulation with the epistropheus. These surfaces take the place of the arch articulations of ordinary vertebrae. Through the compression of the transverse process, the costo- transverse foramen is converted into a canal. The anterior aper- ture of this leads by a shallow groove, the sulcus arteriae vertebralis, into a foramen perforating the posterior arch. This aperture, represented in some mammals by separate alar and intervertebral foramina serves to transmit the vertebral artery and the first cervical nerve. The space enclosed by the atlas is divided into a dorsal portion, corresponding to the vertebral foramen of other vertebrae, and a 22 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. ventral portion which in the natural condition lodges the odontoid process of the epistropheus. The division is effected partly by a small tubercle on the inner side of each lateral mass, and partly by a transverse ligament which is stretched between them and over the dorsal surface of the odontoid process. On the floor of the ventral portion, a rounded articular surface, the fovea dentis, marks the point of articulation of the anterior articular facet of the odontoid process with the inner surface of the anterior arch. The second vertebra is the epistropheus or axis (Fig. 56, B). It resembles the succeeding cervical vertebrae more closely than does the atlas. It is noteworthy for its great size, for the lateral compression of its arch and spinous process, and for the possession of a stout forwardly-directed odontoid process, or tooth (dens epistrophei). It is articulated with the atlas through an anterior articular facet, borne on the ventral surface of the odontoid process, and by large paired superior articular facets borne on its base. The spinous process of this vertebra and the transverse processes of the atlas form together three main points of attach- ment for the occipital musculature. The thoracic vertebrae (vertebrae thoracales) are twelve in number. They are distinguished chiefly by the possession of articular pits for the attachment of ribs (Fig. 56, D). A rib is articulated at two points, namely, one on the body of the vertebra, the other on the transverse process. The former is marked by a small round depression, the costal pit (fovea costalis), or costal facet. In the last two vertebrae the facet is borne wholly on the vertebral body to which the rib belongs. In the remaining verte- brae a complete articulating surface is formed by two demifacets, one being on the vertebra to which the rib belongs, the other on the vertebra immediately in front. The articulation of a rib-with a transverse process is marked by an oval facet, the costal pit of the transverse process (fovea costalis transversalis). It is present only in the first ten of the thoracic vertebrae. In all vertebrae of the thoracic series the spinous processes are well-developed. They increase in length to the third, and then become gradually shorter, although their surfaces, on the whole, are’ slightly increased in extent. The anterior ten are directed back- ward, the eleventh is almost vertical, while the twelfth is directed forward, like those of the succeeding lumbar vertebrae. THE VERTEBRAL COLUMN. 123 The lumbar vertebrae (vertebrae lumbales) are seven in num- ber. They are large vertebrae, conspicuous for their extensive surfaces and processes for muscular attachment (Fig. 56, E, F). The transverse processes continue the general line of the ribs of the thoracic region. They are directed forward, as well as outward, and the tip of each is formed bya thin triangular plate (processus triangularis), which represents a fused rib. At the posterior side of the base of each is a short, flattened projection, the accessory A B Fic. 57. Theos sacrum: A, ventral (pelvic) surface; B, dorsal surface; c.v., bodies of coalesced vertebrae; f.a., auricular surface; f.s.a., anterior sacral foramina; f.s.m., median sacral foramina; f.s.p., posterior sacral foramina; p.a.s., superior articular process of first vertebra; p.m., ma- millary process of first vertebra; pr., promontory; p.s., spinous processes. process (processus accessorius). The spinous process is especially well-developed, and is directed forward. The articular processes are rotated upward, so that their surfaces are directed more nearly toward, or away from, the median plane, instead of to the dorsal or ventral surface. The anterior articular surfaces are borne on the bases of stout, upwardly-directed mamillary processes (processus mamillares). The latter are most characteristic of the lumbar vertebrae, but may be seen to arise in the posterior thoracic 124 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. region as small elevations of the transverse processes. Each of the first three of the lumbar vertebrae bears a median ventral pro- jection, the anterior spinous process (processus spinosus anterior), for the attachment of the lumbar portion of the diaphragm. The sacral vertebrae (vertebrae sacrales) are four in number. In contrast to the true vertebrae—those united by ligament and articular surfaces—of the remaining portions of the vertebral column, they are false vertebrae, uvited in the young by synchon- droses, and in the adult coalesced to form a composite structure, the os sacrum (Fig. 57). The axis of the sacrum forms an obtuse angle with that of the lumbar vertebrae, the angle being indicated by a ventral projection, the promontory (promontorium), formed by the last lumbar and first sacral vertebrae. The sacrum is the medium through which the vertebral column—in other words, the posterior portion of the trunk—is supported on the posterior limbs. Its anterior dorsal portion bears on either side a roughened area, the auricular surface (facies auricularis), for articulation with the pelvic girdle.. This surface is borne for the most part on the transverse process of the first sacral vertebra. The sacrum exhibits many features resulting from its formation through the fusion of originally distinct vertebrae. On the ventral, or pelvic surface (facies pelvina), the lines of junction may be traced either between the bodies, or between the transverse pro- cesses. Four pairs of apertures on this surface, the anterior sacral foramina (foramina sacralia anteriora), lead into the intervertebral foramina, and give passage to the sacral spinal nerves. On the dorsal surface (facies dorsalis) a pair of posterior sacral foramina lie in the line of junction of the first and second vertebrae. The spinous processes are evident in all four vertebrae. The combined articular and mamillary processes are conspicuous only in the first two, but are represented in the succeeding two by low, rough- ened tubercles. In the middle line dorsally the vertebral arches are separated by conspicuous apertures, the median sacral fora- mina. The caudal or coccygeal vertebrae (vertebrae caudales, s. coccygeae) are sixteen in number. There are segments of small size, increasing slightly to the third, and then gradually decreasing to the end of the column. The arches are complete in the first — - THE RIBs. 125 seven. The transverse processes are vestigial in all except the third. At the end of the column the segments are reduced to slender cylinders of bone representing the vertebral bodies. THE RIBS. The ribs (costae) are twelve in number on either side. Each is composed of a dorsal portion, the costal bone (os costale), or bone-rib, and a ventral portion, the costal cartilage (cartilago costalis) (Fig. 58). From their attachment on the vertebral column the bone-ribs are directed outward, downward, and back- ward. The costal cartilages are directed for the most part inward, downward, and forward. The first costal cartilage forms a pro- nounced angle with the corresponding bone-rib. In the succeeding ribs the angle is gradually replaced by a broad curve. Ribs are classified as true or sternal ribs (costae verae), and false or asternal ribs (costae spuriae). The former—comprising the anterior seven—are those directly attached to the sternum. The latter—comprising the posterior five are either indirectly attached, or unattached. The unattached ribs are designated as floating ribs. Generally speaking, the bone-ribs are cylindrical; but the anterior five or six are more or less flattened, with their main surfaces respectively medial and lateral. The compression is most marked in old animals. The first rib is extremely short. The succeeding ribs increase in length to the sixth, and then decrease to the twelfth. The arch formed by each rib has its greatest convexity, or angle, at some point toward the dorsal surface. Passing backward, the point of greatest convexity changes from a medial to a lateral position. This, together with the elongation of the more posterior ribs, results in an enormous increase in the posterior extent of the thoracic cavity. The vertebral end, or head of the rib (capitulum costae), is articulated with the body of the vertebra to which it belongs, and also, in the case of the first ten, with the vertebra immediately in front. The articulation with a transverse process is marked by a small smooth elevation, the costal tubercle (tuberculum costae). It is present only in the first nine ribs. Except in the first rib, and 126 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. in the last four, the tubercle bears a sharp, dorsally-directed process for muscular attachment. The slender portion of the rib inter- vening between the head and tubercle is the neck (collum costae), the remaining larger portion being distinguished as the body of the rib (corpus costae). The bony thorax is formed by eLc. the ribs and the sternum with the C.C. ie assistance of the thoracic vertebra. eae It encloses a large space, the es thoracic cavity (cavum thoracis). +h The latter is conical in shape, with ARK Aan the apex directed forward. The TS. hy dorsoventral diameter of the cavity é RR, E is considerably greater than the | ees transverse diameter. Apart from IIS the intercostal spaces, the cavity rN 2 is open at two points: anteriorly, Ce: y\% S the first thoracic vertebra, the first aa On 4: rib, and the manubrium_ sterni PNT, ‘ together enclose a small opening, 3 the superior thoracic aperture 6 (apertura thoracis superior); pos- > z teriorly, the seventh and succeed- ing ribs, together with the posterior thoracic vertebrae and the xiphoid process of the sternum, enclose a Fic. 58. The sternum and first rib, much larger DENNIS the inferior ventral view: 1-7, the true ribs; 8, frst thoracic aperture (apertura thor- false rib; c.c., head of rib; cl.c., neck of eee : rib; cr., costal cartilage; cr.c., body of rib; acis inferior). In the natural con- c.s., body of sternum; m.s., manubrium sterni; 0.c.,bone-rib; p.x.,xiphoid process; dition it is largely closed by the t.c., costal tubercle. E diaphragm. The curved boundary formed by the ribs in this region is the costal arch (arcus costarum), the angle formed at the point of attachment of the xiphoid process being the infrasternal angle (angulus infrasternalis). Through their articulations with the vertebral column, and the nature of the costal cartilages, the ribs are capable of being moved, or rotated, forward. The movement results in an increase of the extent of the thoracic cavity, and is of importance in respiration. THE STERNUM 127 THE STERNUM. The sternum (Fig. 58) consists of a linear series of six segments, the sternebrae The first segment is the manubrium sterni. It is about twice the length of the middle segments. It is some- what triangular in section, two of its surfaces being ventrolateral, the third dorsal and directed toward the thoracic cavity. To its anterior tip is attached the sternoclavicular ligament, by which the greatly reduced clavicle is united with the sternum The four middle segments are similar in appearance, and form the body (corpus sterni). The sixth segment, described as the xiphoid process (processus xiphoideus), is an elongated strip of bone, to the posterior end of which is attached a broad, thin plate of cartilage. The first costal articulation is situated at about the middle of the manubrium, the remaining six at the points of junction of the segments. Five of them occur singly, while the sixth and seventh costal cartilages are attached together at the point of junction of the last segment of the corpus sterni with the xiphoid process. THE SKELETON OF THE HEAD. The head-skeleton comprises: (1) the series of elements constitut- ing the skull; and (2) the hyoid bone, with its connections. The skull, or cranium—using that term in a general sense—includes the cranium proper, that portion enclosing the brain and containing in its wall the auditory capsules, and the bones of the face (ossa faciei), the latter including the series of elements related for the most part to the jaws and palate. The primary relations of the constituents of the head-skeleton have already been indicated above (p. 53). A. THE SKULL AS A WHOLE. The skull (Figs. 59-63) is a composite structure, consisting of a large number of elements, which, with the exception of the mandi- ble, are united. by synarthroses, so that they produce the effect ofa continuous mass. The mandible is a more or less independent ’ 128 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. structure, articulated with the main body of the skull by a typical joint. The skull is roughly divisible into two portions, namely, an anterior, facial portion, and a posterior, cranial portion The cranial portion has a somewhat conical shape, its apex being directed forward. It is separated from the facial portion by a depression on either side of the skull, the orbital cavity (orbita), which serves for the accommodation of the optic bulb. Unlike the remaining special sense-organs, the eye is not included within the skull-wall. The two portions are united both medially and laterally, the lateral . connection being established by the zygomatic arch (arcus zygomaticus), which bridges the lateral portion of the orbit. The facial portion has also a somewhat conical shape, its apex being formed by the anterior extremity of the upper jaw and the incisor teeth. Its base is formed in part by the connection with the cranial portion, as already described, and also by the anterior walls of the orbits. The cranial portion exhibits an extensive posterior, nuchal surface (planum nuchale), situated in general at right angles to the cervical portion of the vertebral column and also to the dorsal, lateral, and ventral walls of the skull. This surface includes the external surface of the occipital bone, with the exception, chiefly, of the basilar portion of the latter. Its dorsal portion forms an area of attachment for the spinal and special occipital musculature. Its ventral portion is perforated by a large aperture, the foramen magnum occipitale, for the passage of the central nervous system from the cranial cavity into che vertebral canal. On either side of this is a smooth, ridge-like projection, the occipital condyle (condylus occipitalis), for articulation with the superior articular pitsof the atlas. Ata little distance lateral to the occipital condyle, the nuchal surface is continued downward through the medium of a somewhat triangular, pointed jugular or paramastoid process (processus jugularis). This structure is separated from the occi- pital condyle by a pronounced notch, the posterior boundary of a deep narrow excavation, the jugular fossa (fossa jugularis), which lies between the condyle and the tympanic bulla. The jugular process serves for the attachment of muscles belonging to the tongue, hyoid, and mandible, namely, the styloglossus, stylohyoidei THE SKULL AS A WHOLE. - SL29 major and minor, and the digastricus, the suspensory ligament of the lesser cornu of the hyoid also being included in the ligament of the stylohyoideus minor. The nuchal surface is separated from the dorsal surface of the skull by a shield-shaped promontory and crest (crista nuchae). The lateral continuation of this crest is the superior nuchal line (linea nuchae superior). It forms a curved ridge, the position of which indicates the dorsal limit of the occipital musculature. The posterior, somewhat tri-radiate tip of the P. j. Fic. 59. Lateral surface of the skull: AS, alisphenoid (ala magna); BO, basioccipital (basilar portion of occipital); BS, basisphenoid (body of posterior sphenoid); F, frontal; I, interparietal; L, lacrimal; M, maxilla; MS, masteid portion of petrosal (petromastoid) ; N, nasal; OS, orbitosphenoid (ala parva); P, parietal; PL, palatine; PM, premaxilla; SO, supraoccipital (squamous portion of occipital); SQ, squamosal; T, tympanic; ZY, zygomatic. a.p., piriform aperture of nose; d.i., incisor teeth; d.m., molars; d.pm., premolars; f.i., infraorbital foramen; f.mx., maxillary fossa; f.o., optic foramen; f.s., stylomastoid foramen; f.t., temporal fossa; 1.f., lateral lamina of pterygoid process; 1.m., medial lamina; m.a.e., OSseous portion of external acoustic meatus; p.a., alveolar process. of maxilla; p.e., ethmoidal portion of orbitosphenoid; p.f., frontal process of premaxilla; p.j., jugular process of occipital; p.m., mastoid process of mastoid; p.mx., maxillary process of frontal; p.o., orbital process of maxilla; ‘p.o.e., external occipital protuberance; p.s., squamosal process of parietal; p.s.a., and p.s.p., anterior and posterior supraorbital processes of frontal; p.z., zygomatic process of squamosal; p.z.m., zygomatic process of maxilla; s, sphenoorbital process of maxilla; s.m., spina masseterica; sq., squamosal process of squamosal. projection, together with a thin ridge extending ventrad from it, is the external occipital protuberance (protuberantia occipitalis externa), an important median point of attachment for the occi- pital muscles and the ligamentum nuchae. The ventral wall of the cranial portion is the basal portion (basicranium) of the entire skull. Its axial line, the basicranial axis, continues, in general, that of the bodies of the vertebrae, and its posterior portion is equivalent, morphologically, to vertebral 130 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. segments. It is formed by a linear series of three bones, namely, the basilar portion of the occipital, the body of the posterior sphenoid, and that of the anterior sphenoid (respectively basi- occipital, basisphenoid and presphenoid bones). Its ex- tremely narrow, anterior portion forms the roof of a deep groove which encloses the nasal portion of the pharynx. As viewed from the ventral surface, it is seen to disappear in the facial complex at some distance dorsal to the posterior margin of the bony palatine bridge. Laterally, it is separated from the orbit on either side by a vertical plate formed by the palatine bone, and also by two down- ward projections of the posterior sphenoid, the medial and lateral laminae of the pterygoid process (processus pterygoideus). These structures enclose between them the pterygoid fossa (fossa pterygoidea), the walls of which serve for the attachment of the external and internal pterygoid muscles of the mandible. The lateral wall of the cranial portion forms anteriorly a large part of the boundary of the orbit. The cranial wall of the orbit is partly formed by two upward projections of the basicranium, namely, the lesser or orbital wing of the anterior sphenoid, or orbitosphenoid and the greater or temporal wing of the pos- terior sphenoid, or alisphenoid. The remaining portion is formed by membrane elements, including the frontal bone of the roof of the skull and the squamosal bone, the latter distinguishable as the support of the posterior root of the zygomatic arch. Immediately behind the orbit, the root of the zygomatic arch projects outward and then downward. It is formed by a zygomatic process (proces- sus zygomaticus) of the squamosal bone, and the tip of this forms a vertical plate, which is united by a horizontal suture with the zygomatic bone. On the ventral side of the process, close to the cranial wall, is the glenoid cavity or mandibular fossa (fossa mandibularis), for articulation with the mandible. On its dorsal side, but more especially on the adjacent portion of the cranial wall, there is a shallow, horizontal groove, lodging in the natural condi- tion the temporalis muscle of the mandible, and therefore represent- ing a greatly reduced temporal fossa (fossa temporalis). In the natural condition the anterior portion of the groove is converted into a foramen through the presence of a stout ligament extending from the posterior supraorbital process to the base of the zygomatie arch. The dorsal boundary of the fossa is formed by a pronounced THE SKULL AS A WHOLE. 131 ridge, the temporal line (linea temporalis), the latter forming also the lateral margin of the roof of the skull in this region. Behind the posterior root of the zygomatic arch, the external surface of the lateral wall is largely occupied by the swollen tym- panic bulla (bulla tympani), formed by the tympanic bone. It contains the capacious tympanic cavity (cavum tympani) and certain skeletal structures of the middle ear, namely, the auditory ossi- cles (ossicula auditus), the relations of which are more fully dealt with below (p. 147). The dorsal portion of the tympanic bulla is continuous with a short bony tube which opens at a short distance dorsally by a large oval aper- ture. This tube is part of a more extensive canal, the external acoustic meatus (meatus acusticus. externus) which, in the natural condi- tion, leads downward through the base of the external ear to the tympanic membrane. The tympanic bulla does not form the lateral wall of the skull in this region, and is not exposed to the cranial cavity. It is applied closely to the external surface of the perio- tic or petromastoid bone poe. Dorsal surface of the skull: F, frontal; Fic. 60. I,interparietal; L, lacrimal; M, maxilla; MS, mastoid portion of petrosal (petromastoid); N, nasal; P, parietal; SO, supraoccipital (squamous portion of occipital); SO, squamosal; JESS zygomatic. f.mx., maxillary fossa; f.t., temporal fossa; l.n.s., superior nuchal line; l.t., temporal line; p.f., frontal process of premaxilla; p.mx., maxillary process of frontal; p.o.e., external occipital protuberance; p.s.a. and ).s.p., anterior and posterior supraorbital processes of frontal; p.sc., subcutaneous process of lacrimal; p.z., zygomatic process of squamosal; p.z.m., zygomatic process of maxilla; s.f., frontal spine; s.m., spina masseterica. (os petrosum), which forms the lateral boundary of the cranial cavity, and contains the structures of the internal ear. The external or mastoid portion of this bone appears in the space enclosed between the tympanic bulla and the jugular process of the occipital 132 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. bone, where it is readily distinguishable by its pitted appearance. Its ventral portion bears a slender projection, lying parallel to the jugular process, the mastoid process (processus mastoideus). A series of foramina, lying partly within the orbit, and extend- ing thence posteriorly along the boundary between the lateral and ventral walls to the occiput, put the cranial cavity in communica- tion with the outside, and serve for the passage of nerves and vessels. The first and largest of these, the optic foramen (foramen opti- cum), occupies the middle portion of the orbit, and transmits, in the natural condition, the optic nerve. Following this is a vertical slit-like aperture—not to be confused with the perforations of the external lamina of the pterygoid process—the superior orbital fissure (fissura orbitalis superior). It represents both the superior orbital fissure of the normal mammalian skull and the foramen rotundum, and provides for the passage outward of the third, fourth and sixth cranial nerves, together with the first and second divisions of the fifth. The lateral lamina of the pterygoid process presents three foramina, of which the largest, anterior, and medial one, the anterior sphenoidal foramen (alar canal), serves for the transmission of the internal maxillary artery, while the remaining two, the middle and posterior sphenoidal foramina, transmit muscular branches (masseterico-temporal and pterygobuccinnator) of the mandibular nerve. On the medial side of the base of the medial lamina of the pterygoid process there is a shallow longitu- dinal groove, representing the pterygoid canal (canalis ptery- goideus) of the human skull. Immediately in front of the tympanic bulla, on the ventral surface of the skull, an irregular aperture, the foramen lacerum, leads directly into the cranial cavity. It is incompletely divided into two parts by a slender bony splint. It contains, in addition to the foramen lacerum, the foramen ovale of the typical mammalian skull, and serves to transmit the mandib- ular portion of the fifth nerve and the internal carotid artery. Looking into the aperture from the front, it is seen to communicate not only with the cranial cavity, but also with two apertures in the anterior portion of the auditory complex. One of these—that toward the middle line—is the internal carotid foramen (fora- men caroticum internum). It is the anterior end of a canal trans- mitting the internal carotid artery; the posterior end of this canal, THE SKULL AS A WHOLE. 133 the point at which the internal carotid artery enters the tympanic bone, or the external carotid foramen (foramen caroticum externum), being visible as a rounded aperture lying on the postero- medial surface of the tympanic bulla. The second, lateral aper- ture communicating with the foramen lacerum is that of the auditory (Eustachian) tube (tuba auditiva). It leads into the tympanic cavity, and in the natural condition the tube places this cavity in communication with the nasal portion of the pharynx. Associated with the mastoid process is a small aperture, the stylo- mastoid foramen (foramen stylomastoideum), the external opening of the facial canal, which serves for the passage of the facial nerve. A slit-like aperture, the jugular foramen (foramen jugulare), lies in the jugular fossa, between the posterior ventral margin of the tympanic bulla and the occipital condyle. It transmits the first portion of the internal jugular vein from the transverse sinus of the dura mater, and also the ninth, tenth, and eleventh cranial nerves. Finally, immediately in front of the dorsal portion of the condyle, the occipital segment is perforated by several small apertures together representing the hypoglossal canal (canalis hypoglossi), and serving for the transmission of the hypoglossal nerve. The roof of the cranial portion is largely formed by two pairs of thin membrane elements, the frontal and parietal bones. The former occupy a general position between the orbits, while the latter are interposed between the frontal bones and the occipital segment. A small portion of the roof is formed posteriorly, however, by a small lozenge-shaped element, the interparietal bone, and by the shield- shaped projection, described above, which is part of the occipital bone. The space enclosed by the cranial portion of the skull is the cranial cavity (cavum cranii). Its form depends on the external configuration of the brain. It is divisible into three portions, known as the cranial fossae. The anterior cranial fossa (fossa cranii anterior) is a small division lodging in the natural condition the olfactory bulbs of the brain. The middle cranial fossa, the largest division of the cavity, lodges the enlarged cerebral hemispheres. The posterior cranial fossa is a small division extending backward to the foramen magnum and lodging in the 134 0 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. natural condition the cerebellum and related posterior portions of the brain. It is partly set off from the middle cranial fossa by a fold of the dura mater, the tentorium cerebelli, which projects Ventral surface of the skull: AS, alis- phenoid (ala magna); B, basioccipital (basilar portion of occipital); BS, basisphenoid (body of posterior sphenoid); EXO, exoccipital; M, maxilla; PL, palatine; PMX, premaxilla; PR, presphenoid (body of anterior sphenoid); SO, supraoccipital (squamous portion of occipital); SCG, squamosal; T, tympanic; ZY, zygomatic. ; ch, choana; c.hy., hypoglossal canal; CHOKS occipital condyle; f.c.e., external carotid foramen; f.in., incisive foramen; f.j., jugular foramen; f.l., foramen lacerum; f.m., mandibular fossa; f.m.o., foramen magnum; f.p.m., greater palatine foramen; f.s.a., anterior sphenoidal foramen; m.a.e., osseous portion of external acoustic meatus; p.j., jugular process; p.o.e., external occipital protuberance; p.pl., palatine process of maxilla; p.pm., palatine process of premaxilla; p.pt., medial and lateral laminae of pterygoid process of posterior sphenoid; s.m., spina masseterica. Fic. 61. inward from the dorsal and lateral walls of the skull. This fold is usually found adhering to the internal sur- face of the skull, unless the latter has been very thor- oughly cleared, and in all cases its position is indicated by a low ridge of bone. ~The marked difference in diameter between the middle and _ pos- terior cranial fossae is ac- counted for by the great thick- ness of the auditory portion of the skull. The anterior surface of the periotic bone will be observed to form an extensive posterior wall for the middle cranial fossa. The floor of the middle and posterior cranial fossae is not smooth, like the external base of the skull, but presents in its anterior portion a pro- minent elevation, the sella turcica, which is borne on the body of the posterior sphe- noid. It contains a large central depression, the hypo- physeal fossa (fossa hypoph- seos), which in the natural condition lodges the hypo- physis or pituitary body. The aperture of the fossa is partly enclosed laterally by a pair of pointed posterior clinoid processes (processus clinoidei posteriores), the on > THE SKULL AS A WHOLE. 135 tips of which are directed forward; and a corresponding pair of anterior clincid processes lie at the anterior end of the fossa, with the tips directed backward. The posterior, and also dorsal wall of the fossa, described as the dorsum sellae, leads by an abrupt curve backward on to the floor of the posterior cranial fossa, the sloping portion of the floor, or clivus, supporting in the natural condition the pons and medulla oblogata. Toward the anterior end of the middle cranial fossa, the lateral walls of the skull are greatly compressed, so that the anterior portion of the basicranium, especially the body of the anterior sphenoid, is largely ecxluded from the cranial cavity. The usually paired optic foramina are here confluent, there being a single aperture for the transmission of the optic nerves. The posterior ventral boundary of this aper- ture contains a broad groove, the sulcus chiasmatis, which lodges in the natural condition the optic chiasma. In the anterior cranial fossa the floor is largely formed by a perforated area, borne on the cribriform plate (lamina cribrosa) of the ethmoid bone, and serving for the transmission of the divided olfactory nerves. Its median portion projects slightly into the cranial fossa as a low ridge, the crista galli, which is interposed between the tips of the olfactory bulbs. In the ventrolateral portion of the cranial cavity may be found the internal openings of the foramina described above, namely, the superior orbital fissure, the foramen lacerum, the jugular foramen, and the hypoglossal canal. The superior orbital fissure is almost ventral in position to the foramen opticum, and is connected back- ward with the foramen lacerum by a broad groove, the sulcus sphenoidalis, which lodges in the natural condition the roots of the fifth nerve. This groove continues to the medial surface of the periotic bone, where it is bridged over by the tentorium cerebellt. On the lateral wall of the posterior cranial fossa, and enclosed by the compact, white, petrous portion of the peroitic bone, is a series of three apertures leading into its substance. One of these, much larger than the remaining two, is_ the parafloccular fossa (fossa parafloccularis). It lodges in the natural condition the flocculus, a small stalked appendage of the cerebellum. Ventral of this fossa, and also somewhat in front of it, a thin lodge of bone extends over an oval opening, the internal 136 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. aperture of the facial canal (canalis facialis), which serves for the transmission of the seventh cranial (facial) nerve. Immediately behind and below this aperture is the opening of the internal acoustic meatus (meatus acusticus internus) for the transmission of the eighth cranial (acoustic) nerve. The two apertures tend to be enclosed by a shallow bony ridge, largely formed by the pro- jecting ledge described above, and resembling superficially the complete common tube represented by the internal acoustic meatus of the human skull. The facial portion of the skull is largely formed by the invest- ing bones of the upper jaw, palate, and mandible, but it encloses also the entire olfactory region of the primary skull, including the nasal fossae and associated turbinal bones. The upper jaw—the maxilla of the human skull—is formed of two primary, and, in the rabbit, separate, elements, the maxilla and premaxilla. They together form the greater portion of the facial region—in the adult condition also a large portion of the lateral walls of the nasal fossae —and bear in a ventrolateral position low alveolar processes (processus alveolares) for the sockets or alveoli of the incisor and cheek-teeth. The maxilla bears the anterior root of the zygomatic arch, the latter being formed partly by a short zygomatic process arising from its lateral surface, by the zygomatic or malar bone, which is fused with it, and by the corresponding zygomatic process of the squamosal bone, constituting the posterior root. The anterior root of the zygomatic arch is perforated by a deep narrow infraorbital canal (canalis infraorbitalis), which opens on the facial surface by a vertical slit-like aperture, the infraorbital foramen. It serves for the transmission of the infraorbital vessels and nerves from the orbit to the face. : The ventral portion of the maxilla is associated with the pala- tine bone to form the hard palate (palatum durum). This structure is represented chiefly by a bony palatine bridge con- necting the two sides of the skull between the more anterior cheek- teeth. It forms a portion of the roof of the oral cavity and a por- tion of the floor of the nasal cavity. Immediately in front of it, the palatal surface is perforated by a pair of large incisive foramina (foramina incisiva), which are broadly open to the nasal fossae. THE SKULL AS A WHOLE. 137 A considerable portion of the anterior and dorsal wall of the orbit is formed by the facial complex. Dorsally, the roofing element of this region, the frontal bone, bears a curved lateral projection, the supraorbital process (processus supraorbitalis), which overhangs the orbit. Its narrower base expands into anterior and posterior tips, which lie parallel to the adjacent portion of the skull, and enclose with the latter corresponding anterior and posterior supraorbital incisures. The latter are converted: by ligament into foramina. The anterior wall of the orbit is formed in part by a loosely articulated element, the lacrimal bone, the lateral margin of which projects from the orbital rim as a blunt subcutaneous process (processus subcutaneus). On the ventral side of its base is the orbital opening of the nasolacrimal canal (canalis nasolacrimalis), the bony enclosure of the nasolacrimal duct, which in the natural condition leads from the corneal surface of the eye to the anterior portion of the nasal fossa. A smaller projection forming the ventral boundary of the nasolacrimal aperture is the hamulus lacrimalis. Finally, in the ventral anterior angle of the orbit, the bases of the three posterior cheek- teeth encroach to a considerable extent on the orbital space. They are separated from the orbital wall by a deep infraorbital groove (sulcus infraorbitalis), which leads forward into the canal of the same name. They partly conceal two important apertures of this region, the orbital opening of the pterygopalatine canal (canalis pterygopalatinus), leading to the palatal surface, and the spheno- palatine foramen (foramen sphenopalatinum), leading to the nasal fossa. The pterygopalatine canal opens ventrally in the palato-maxillary suture of the hard palate by a rounded aperture, the greater palatine foramen (foramen palatinum majus). The nasal cavity (cavum nasi) is enclosed by the maxilla and premaxilla, with the assistance of paired roofing elements, the nasal bones. Apart from the incisive foramina, which are closed in the natural condition, the cavity is open at two points. Poste- riorly it communicates with the ventral surface of the skull by the choanae, which, in the rabbit, are incompletely divided. An- teriorly it opens to the outside by the piriform aperture (apertura piriformis). The cavity is divided into right and left portions, the nasal fossae. In the divided skull it is seen thac the division is effected chiefly through a median vertical, cartilaginous plate, 13g, ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. the nasal septum (septum nasi), or cartilaginous portion of the mesethmoid. This is continuous posteriorly with a _ small crescentic vertical plate of bone, the perpendicular plate (lamina perpendicularis) of the ethmoid bone—the bony portion of the mesethmoid—and the latter is also the terminal element of the series of median bones constituting the basicranium. Posteriorly, the ventral portion of the cartilaginous nasal septum is supported by a vertical bony plate, the vomer, the dorsal margin of which is grooved to receive it. Anteriorly, the nasal septum bears on its ventral margin the paired enclosures of the yomeronasal organ, Fic. 62. The skullin vertical section: BO, basioccipital (basilar portion of occipital) ; BS, basisphenoid (body of posterior sphenoid); ET, ethmoturbinal; F, frontal; I, inter- parietal; M, maxilla; MT, maxilloturbinal; N, nasal; NT, nasoturbinal;. P, parietal; PL, palatine; PMX, premaxilla; PR, presphenoid (body of anterior sphenoid) ; PT, petrous portion of petromastoid; SO, supraoccipital (squamous portion of occipital); T, tympanic; V, vomer. a.p., piriform aperture of nose; c.f., internal aperture of facial canal; c.o., occipital con- dyle; fc.a., f.c.m. and f.c.p., anterior, middle, and posterior cranial fossae; f.f., parafloccular fossa; f.h., hypophyseal fossa; f.in., incisive foramen; f.s., sphenopalatine foramen; 1., per- pendicular plate of the ethmoid; m.a.i., internal acoustic meatus; 0., optic foramen; p.a., alveolar process of maxilla; p.d., hard palate; p.o.e., external occipital protuberance; p.pt., pterygoid process of posterior sphenoid; s.n., nasal septum; t.c., tentorium cerebelli. which are also supported by the grooved surface formed in the - middle line by the adjacent dorsal surfaces of the palatine processes of the premaxilla. The relations of these structures, as well as of the cartilage supporting the nasopalatine duct, are best seen in very young animals (cf. Plate III). The delicate, folded, or scroll-like turbinated bones, charac- teristic of the nasal cavity, are borne on its posterior and lateral walls. Occupying the anterior portion of the lateral wall of the nasal fossa is a finely-ridged mass of bone, the concha inferior, or maxilloturbinal. It is easily distinguishable from a more dorsal THE SKULL AS A WHOLE. 139 \ and posterior series of broader folds, which together constitute the ethmoturbinal. In the rabbit, as in mammals generally, the latter is divisible into a more dorsal elongated portion attached to the nasal bone, the nasoturbinal, and a more ventral portion, also posterior portion, the ethmoturbinal proper, composed of several shorter folds decreasing in length from above downward. In the natural condition the turbinated bones bear a considerable portion of the nasal epithelium, the surface of which is greatly increased by the folding of the underlying bone. That covering the ethmoturbinal contains the olfactory sense organs, while that covering the maxilloturbinal is non-sensory and possesses the Fic. 63. lLateralsurface of the left half of the mandible: a.m. angle; c.m., body of mandible; cp.m., articular portion (head) of mandible; d.i., d.m., and d.pm., incisor, molar and premolar teeth; f.m., mental foramen; i.m.a. and i.m.p., anterior and posterior mandibular incisures; p.c., coronoid process; p.cd., condyloid process; t.m. and t.pt., masseteric and pterygoid tuberosities. mechanical function of freeing the air of the respiratory tracts from foreign materials, as well as of warming it slightly in its passage. On this account the respective structures are conveniently distin- guished as sensory (olfactory) turbinals and respiratory turbinals. The mandible (mandibula) is composed of two portions, united anteriorly by the symphysis mandibulae. Each half comprises a horizontal portion, forming in conjunction with that of the oppo- site side the body of the mandible (corpus mandibulae), and a posterior, vertical portion, the ramus mandibulae, the latter serving for the insertion of the muscles of mastication and for articulation with the skull. The body of the mandible bears on its 140 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. dorsal margin the alveoli of the lower teeth. The mandibular ramus forms a broad plate, the lateral surface of which is occupied in the natural condition by the masseter muscle, while the medial surface forms an area of insertion for the external and internal pterygoids. The surface of the ramus is greatly increased in its posteroventral portion through the expansion of the bone to form the angle (angulus mandibulae), or angular apophysis. The elongated articular surface is borne at the end of a vertical, or slightly oblique condyloid process (processus condyloideus). The nerve and vessels of the mandible enter at the mandibular foramen (foramen mandibulare), the latter being situated on the medial surface of the bone immediately behind the last cheek-tooth. B. THE BONES OF THE SKULL. 1. THE OCCIPITAL BONE. The occipital bone (os occipitale) is the first of the basicranial segments as numbered from the occipital articulation forward. It forms the posterior boundary of the skull, and establishes the connection of the latter with the vertebral column. Its external surface is identifiable for the most part with the nuchal surface, but a portion of it falls in the horizontal plane of the basis cranii. The internal surface is partly exposed to the cranial cavity, and forms in this relation the posterior, dorsal, and ventral boundaries of the posterior cranial fossa. The remaining portion is excluded from the cranial cavity, being applied instead to the broad posterior surfaces of the petrotympanic bones. The occipital bone is divisible into four portions, namely, the basilar portion (pars basilaris) or basioccipital, the paired lateral portions (partes laterales), or exoccipitals, and the squamous portion (squama occipitalis), or supraoccipital. All four portions take part in the formation of the foramen magnum. In the young animal (Fig. 12) they are represented by separate elements, formed in a continuous mass of cartilage, and united for a time by synchondroses, but in the course of growth they become fused to form a single occipital bone. THE BONES OF THE SKULL. 141 The basioccipital is that portion lying below and in front of the foramen magnum. Its main surfaces are respectively dorsal and ventral. Its anterior margin is united with the posterior margin of the basisphenoid by a thin, transverse cartilage union, the sphenooccipital synchondrosis (synchondrosis spheno- occipitalis). Posteriorly its dorsal and ventral surfaces come together in a thin concave edge which forms the ventral boundary of the foramen magnum. Laterally it is bounded by the petro- tympanic bone and by the lateral portion of the occipital. The dorsal surface bears a median groove, deeper in its middle portion, where the lateral margins of the bone are raised to form a pair of rounded bosses for articulation with the petrotympanic. The groove represents the sloping portion or clivus of the occipital, and lodges in the natural condition, as described above, the ventral portion of the medulla oblongata. The ventral surface presents a similar groove, in the posterior portion of which there is a small ridge-like elevation, the pharyngeal tubercle (tuberculum pharyngeum). The exoccipital is directed dorsad from the basioccipital in such a way that it falls in the plane of the nuchal surface. It is applied to the posterior surface of the petrotympanic bone, and also extends downward beyond the latter as the jugular process. The occipital condyle is borne on the exoccipital, with the exception, however, of its ventral tip, which belongs to the basioccipital. The portion of the occipital bone connecting the basioccipital and exoccipital contains the jugular fossa and the apertures repre- senting the hypoglossal canal. Its anterior margin bears a jugular incisure (incisura jugularis), forming the occipital boundary of the jugular foramen, the remaining portion of the latter being formed by the petrotympanic. The supraoccipital is the dorsal portion of the bone. Its dorsal margin is bent sharply forward, so that it tends to fall, like the basioccipital, in a horizontal plane. Its external surface bears the nuchal crest and the external occipital protuberance. A pair of lateral wing-like expansions rest upon, and partly over- lap, the dorsal margins of the petrotympanic bones. The anterior boundary is formed by the interparietal, parietal, and squamosal bones, but in young skulls the squamosal connection is represented 142 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. by a vacuity. The internal-surface bears a longitudinal groove, lodging in the natural condition the median vermis of the cerebellum. It is crossed at its anterior end by a shallow transverse groove (sulcus transversus), which marks the position of the transverse sinus of the dura mater. 2. THE POSTERIOR SPHENOID. The sphenoid bone, as identified from the human condition, is a complex of elements belonging to two segments, namely, the posterior sphenoid (os sphenoidale posterius) and the anterior sphenoid (os sphenoidale anterius). In the rabbit, as in mammals generally, these segments are separate throughout life. The posterior sphenoid comprises: (1) a median portion, the body, or basisphenoid; (2) paired dorsolateral expansions, the greater wings (alae magnae), or alisphenoids; and (3) paired ventral projections, the pterygoid processes. The basisphenoid continues the basis cranii forward from the basioccipital to the body of the anterior sphenoid. It is united with the latter by the intersphenoidal synchondrosis. Its surfaces correspond for the most part to those of the basioccipital. The ventral surface forms the chief part of the bony roof of the nasopharynx. It is perforated in its middle by a round aperture, the foramen cavernosum, which leads into the interior of the bone. The dorsal surface is occupied by the hypophyseal fossa and related structures, namely, the dorsum sellae and the pos- terior clinoid processes. On the lateral surface of the base of the posterior clinoid process a faint groove, the sulcus caroticus, marks the course of the internal carotid artery. The interior of the — bone contains a cavity of considerable size, the sphenoidal sinus (sinus sphenoidalis), which communicates both with the foramen cavernosum and the hypophyseal fossa. The alisphenoid extends at first laterad, but soon changes its direction so that its axis beomes dorsoventral. At the same time the bone is rotated in such a way that its surfaces tend to fall in a transverse plane. It is bounded anteriorly by the orbitosphenoid, dorsally by the squamosal, and posteriorly by the petrotympanic. The anterior margin of its root encloses with the basisphenoid, THE BONES OF THE SKULL. 143 and to a certain extent with the orbitosphenoid, the superior orbital fissure. The foramen lacerum is formed by the pos- terior margin of its root in association with the petrotympanic. The external surface of the alisphenoid is convex, both toward the orbit and toward the ventral surface of the skull. In the posterior portion of the orbit this surface bears a jagged elevation, the crista alae magnae. The internal surface forms a portion of the floor and anteroventral wall of the middle cranial fossa. At its base a broad groove, the sulcus sphenoidalis, indicates the position of the root of the fifth nerve and the related semilunar (Gasserian) ganglion. The pterygoid process comprises the two plates described above as the medial and lateral laminae. The former is vertical, and its medial surface is directed toward the nasopharynx. The latter is almost horizontal. The medial lamina ends ventrally in a hooked projection, the hamular process (hamulus pterygoideus). In the young animal this portion is formed of an elevation of cartilage tipped by a separate membrane element, the pterygoid bone. The pterygoid fossa is formed in part by the medial and lateral laminae and in part by the divided posterior end of the palatine bone. The posterior basal portion of the lateral lamina is extensively excavated, like the adjacent portions of the alisphenoid. It bears a shallow groove, representing a pterygoid canal (canalis pterygoideus), and is perforated by the three apertures described above as the anterior, middle, and posterior sphenoidal foramina. 3. THE ANTERIOR SPHENOID. The anterior sphenoid (0s sphenoidale anterius) consists of two portions, namely, a median portion, the body, or presphenoid, and a pair of lateral expansions, the lesser wings (alae parvae), or orbitosphenoids. The presphenoid is a constricted bony splint which continues the basis cranii forward from the basisphenoid. It is joined anteriorly with the perpendicular plate of the ethmoid and with the cartilaginous nasal septum. In the divided skull, or better in one from which the roof has been removed, the actual dorsal surface 144 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. of the bone is seen to be exposed to the cranial cavity only in its posterior portion, where it is occupied by the suleus chiasmatis and the optic foramina. That part of the floor immediately in front of the optic foramina is formed by the coalesced roots of the orbitosphenoids, the dorsal surface of the presphenoid being thus excluded. The orbitosphenoid forms a long, low plate, lying in the ventral portion of the orbit, and divided by a shallow notch at the level of the optic foramen into a posterior portion, the orbito- sphenoid proper, and an anterior portion, the ethmoidal process (processus ethmoidalis). The orbitosphenoid proper lies behind the optic foramen. It is in contact dorsally with the orbital portion of the frontal, and ventrally with the alisphenoid; it assists the latter in the formation of the superior orbital fissure. Its posterior tip is in contact with the squamosal. Its internal surface forms a considerable portion of the anteroventral wall of the middle cranial fossa. The ethmoidal process extends forward from the optic fora- men. Its dorsal margin is articulated with the orbital portion of the frontal, and its ventral margin with the orbital portion of the palatine. Anteriorly it projects toward the lacrimal bone, thus occupying, in part, a space which, in the typical mammalian skull, is filled by the lamina papyracea of the ethmoid. Its internal surface is associated with the ethmoid bone and with the nasal cavity. It falls for the most part below the level of the cranial cavity. 4. THE SQUAMOSAL BONE. The temporal bone, or temporal complex, as recognized from the human condition, is an association of three elements— squamosal, tympanic, and periotic—which in the human skull are coalesced to form a single bone. It ‘s usually described as consisting of four portions, of which the squamosal and tympanic portions are. two, while the periotic bone is considered to consist of two others, one of which, the petrous portion, is a solid white portion lodging the internal ear, while the second, or mastoid portion, is a mass of less compact character appearing externally THE BONES OF THE SKULL. 145 in the wall of the skull. In the rabbit the original elements are not coalesced, but the periotic and tympanic bones are so closely associated that it is proper to describe them as forming a petro- tympanic bone. The squamosal bone (os squamosum) is a rectangular plate, forming part of the lateral wall of the cranium, and bearing the posterior root of the zygomatic arch. It is articulated’ anteriorly with the orbitosphenoid and with the orbital portion of the frontal, dorsally with the frontal and parietal, posteriorly with the supra- occipital and petrotympanic, and ventrally with the alisphenoid. Its posterior margin bears a prominent, slightly decurved squa- mosal process (processus squamosus). It lies on the lateral surface of the petrotympanic immediately above the opening of the bony external acoustic meatus. The posterior root of the zygo- matic arch is formed by a lateral and afterwards ventral projection, the zygomatic process of the squamosal. Its base bears ventrally the mandibular fossa, and dorsally, in association with the body of the squamosal, the temporal fossa. The internal surface of the squamosal forms a considerable portion of the wall of the cranial cavity, the middle cranial cavity being, in fact, broadest in this region. 5. THE PETROTYMPANIC BONE. The petrotympanic bone (os petrotympanicum) is a some- what oblong bone lying in the lateral wall of the cranium between the posterior sphenoid and occipital bones. It is chiefly indicated externally by the tympanic bulla and the bony external acoustic meatus. It is articulated anteriorly with the alisphenoid and squamosal, dorsally with the supraoccipital, and posteriorly with the exoccipital. Except for the presence of the squamosal process of the squamosal bone, the lateral and ventral surfaces are exposed to the outside of the skull. The internal surface is exposed to the posterior cranial fossa, with the exception, however, of a small ventral portion which is articulated with the basioccipital bone. Only a small portion of the anterior surface is in contact with the squamosal bone, the larger part being applied to the tentorium cerebelli and forming with the latter a posterior wall for the middle 146 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. cranial fossa. The dorsal portion of the bone corresponds in thickness with the wing of the supraoccipital with which it is articulated. The posterior surface is applied to the anterior surface of the exoccipital, and is thus excluded both from the cranial cavity and from the external surface of the skull. Viewing the skull from behind, however, it is seen that a small dorsal portion protrudes in a triangular space formed by the dorsolateral margin of. the exoccipital and the ventrolateral margin of the supraoccipital wing. This portion is distinguishable by its pitted character. It forms the mastoid portion (pars mastoidea) as distinguished from the solid white petrous portion (pars petrosa), which is exposed to the cranial cavity, and which contains the structures of the internal ear. The mastoid portion lies for the most part above the tympanic cavity, but it is also continued ventrad between the external acoustic meatus and the exoccipital as the mastoid process. The stylomastoid foramen lies between the latter and the ex- ternal acoustic meatus. The petrous portion, as viewed from its medial surface, is roughly oblong; it is placed obliquely with reference to the basi- occipital and basisphenoid. The parafloccular fossa occupies its posterodorsal portion, and extends into the substance of the bone, forming a much larger depression than is indicated by the diameter of its rim. The related dorsal margin of the bone is occupied by a groove which leads into a canal at its posterior margin. It indicates the position of the lateral portion of the transverse sinus of the dura mater. The ventral, thicker portion of the bone, enclosing the apertures of the internal acoustic meatus and the facial canal, is also that lodging the vestibulum and cochlea of the internal ear. A small aperture at its anteroventral angle, only visible when the petrotympanic is freed from its connections, represents the hiatus canalis facialis of the human skull. It transmits the great super- ficial petrosal nerve, a branch of the facial nerve passing to the sphenopalatine ganglion. The tympanic surface of the petrous portion is described below in connection with the structures of the tympanic cavity. The tympanic portion forms the spherical, expanded, shell- like, tympanic bulla, which contains in its interior the tympanic cavity, and is continuous dorsally with the bony enclosure of the THE BONES OF THE SKULL. 147 external acoustic meatus. The boundary between the two is indicated externally by a shallow oblique groove, the position of which indicates roughly that of the tympanic membrane within. The medioventral margin of the bone is articulated with the basi- occipital, but the swollen portion is separated from the latter by a broad groove terminating posteriorly in the jugular fossa and the jugular foramen. Immediately in front of the jugular fossa, the rounded aperture of the external carotid foramen, transmitting in the natural condition the internal carotid artery, leads into the carotid canal of the interior of tympanic portion. At the anterior end of the groove, communicating with the fora- men lacerum, is the anterior opening of the carotid canal, the internal carotid foramen, and on its lateral side the much larger aperture of the auditory (Eustachian) tube. The rela- tions of these apertures are seen to best advantage’ when the petrotympanic is disarticulated Bea De oe ee Ce eas ee ear from, the associated posterior 2uditory complex of the left’side x3. The lateral portions of the tympanic bulla and sphenoid bone. The auditory external acoustic meatus have been removed, exposing the structures of the tympanic tube iS then seen to lead directly cavity. MS, mastoid portion; P, petrous portion; T, tympanic portion (bulla tympani). into the tympanic cavity. oN c.m., mastoid cells; c.t., tympanic cavity; f.c., cochlear fenestra; in., incus; m.a.e., fine bristle may be passed external acoustic meatus; m.m., manubrium of the malleus; m.so., supraoccipital’ margin through the carotid canal from of petromastoid; p.m., mastoid process; st., stapes; t.a., aperture of auditory tube. one foramen to the other. 6. THE STRUCTURES OF THE TYMPANIC CAVITY The relations of the tympanic cavity and associated structures may be studied with advantage in a skull from which the lateral wall of the tympanic bulla and external acoustic meatus has been removed, the surface displayed being as indicated in Fig. 64. The tympanum or middle ear is enclosed by the tympanic and petromastoid portions of the temporal complex. The attached 148 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. margin of the tympanic bulla encloses a roughly triangular area, into the ventral part of which the petrous portion of the petro- mastoid projects as a smooth, white, convex ridge, the pro- montory (promontorium). Above and behind the promontory the tympanic cavity is extended toward the mastoid portion of the bone as the tympanic or mastoid antrum (antrum tympanicum), and the interior of the mastoid portion is partly occupied by small extensions of the tympanic antrum, termed the mastoid cells (cellulae mastoideae). At the anteroventral angle of the area already described, a deep notch indicates the point of entrance of the auditory tube. The exposed surface of the petromastoid presents two apertures, one of which, situated posteroventrally, is open in the dried skull, and is the cochlear fenestra (fenestra cochleae). In the natural condition it is closed by a thin membrane which separates the tympanic cavity from the _ perilymphatic space containing the membranous labyrinth. The second aper- ture, the vestibular fenestra (fenestra vestibuli), lies above and in front of that just described. It is closed by the base of the stapes. The auditory ossicles (ossicula auditus) comprise three ele- ments, namely, the malleus, incus, and stapes, which bridge the space intervening between the tympanic membrane and the open- ing to the internal ear as represented by the vestibular fenestra. They occupy the dorsal angle of the triangular area already de- scribed, and lie immediately above the promontory. The malleus is the lateral element. The main portion, termed the head, is concealed by the projecting edge of the external acoustic meatus. It bears a stout vertical process, the manubrium mallei, which in the natural condition lies in contact with the tympanic mem- brane. The incus is the intermediate element; it is directly articulated with the malleus, and bears a downwardly-directed long limb (crus longum), for articulation with the minute head of the stapes. The latter element is a small stirrup-shaped bone, occupying an almost transverse position, and articulated at its base with the margin of the vestibular fenestra. THE BONES OF THE SKULL. 149 7. THE INTERPARIETAL BONE. The interparietal (os interparietale) is a small, lozenge-shaped element, surrounded by the two parietal bones and the supra- occipital. It is the first of the membrane roofing elements of the cranium proceeding forward from the supraoccipital, and in the rabbit’s skull is not fused with the occipital segment. 8. THE PARIETAL BONE. The parietal bone (os parietale) is a characteristic roofing bone covering a large portion of the middle cranial fossa. It is somewhat rectangular in shape, and is connected by serrate sutures with the surrounding elements and with its fellow of the opposite side, the sutures producing a characteristic pattern on the external surface of the skull. The sutures are medial, anterior, lateral, and posterior in position, and are designated respectively as saggital, coronal, squamosal, and lambdoidal. The posterolateral angle of the bone is produced ventrally into a long, curved Squamous process (processus squamosus), which lies in the angle formed by the ten- torium cerebelli and the lateral wall of the middle cranial fossa. It is not exposed to the external surface of the skull. 9. THE FRONTAL BONE. The frontal bone (os frontale) is a paired element, lying directly in front of the parietal, and forming with its fellow of the opposite side the anterior portion of the roof of the cranial cavity and also a considerable portion of its lateral, orbital wall. Unlike the condition in the human skull, the two bones are separate throughout life, so that there is a permanent frontal suture. Each consists of a frontal portion (pars frontalis), the external or dorsal surface of which continues that of the parietal, and of an orbital portion (pars orbitalis), enclosing the dorsal portion of the orbit. The two parts are connected at the supraorbital border, with which is also connected the base of the divided supraorbital process. The anterior end of the frontal portion is deeply notched where it comes in contact with the nasal and 150 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. premaxillary bones. Two processes are thus formed, one medial, the other lateral to the nasal. The medial process is associated with that of the opposite side to form a triangular frontal spine, while the lateral or maxillary process (processus maxillaris) projects forward between the nasal and premaxillary bones, on the one hand and the subcutaneous process of the lacrimal, the orbital process of the maxilla, and the body of the latter, on the other. The orbital portion of the frontal forms a considerable portion of the orbital wall. Its anterior margin is in contact with the lacrimal bone, its ventral margin with the slender sphenoorbital process of the maxilla, the ethmoid process of the orbitosphenoid, and the orbitosphenoid proper. Its internal surface is divided by a vertical ridge into anterior and posterior portions, in relation respectively to the anterior and middle cranial fossae. The anterior cranial fossa is enclosed by the frontal bones, with the exception, however, of a small portion of the floor which is formed by the cribriform plate of the ethmoid. 10. THE ETHMOID BONE. The ethmoid bone (os ethmoidale), the chief representative of the embryonic cartilaginous nasal capsule, is a delicate, greatly sculptured structure, almost completely enclosed by the membrane bones of the face. Its features may be studied either in the divided skull, or in one from which the roof of the nasal and cranial cavities has been removed. It consists of three main portions, namely, the cribriform plate, the perpendicular plate, and the Paice lateral masses, or ethmoidal labyrinths. The cribriform plate (lamina cribrosa) is exposed to the anterior cranial fossa. It is somewhat heart-shaped, with its apex in contact with the ethmoidal processes of the orbitosphenoids. Its lateral portions are perforated by numerous foramina, giving passage in the natural condition to the branches of the olfactory nerves. Its median portion forms a low vertical ridge, the crista galli, continuous in front with the perpendicular plate. The perpendicular plate (lamina perpendicularis) is the bony, posterior portion of the nasal septum, and as such is exposed to the THE BONES OF THE SKULL. I51 nasal cavity. It is united with the cartilaginous nasal septum and also with the presphenoid. It forms the terminal member of the chain of bones lying in the basicranial axis. The ethmoidal labyrinth (labyrinthus ethmoidalis) occupies for the most part the posterior portion of the nasal fossa, but the nasoturbinal extends forward to its anterior end, and is attached for the greater part of its length to the internal surface of the nasal bone. It is broadest in its middle portion, where it projects into the space left between the ethmoturbinal proper and the maxillo- turbinal, and contains at this point a pouch-like cavity, termed the mMmarsupium nasale. The whole structure is comparable to one of the folds of the ethmoturbinal proper; but it is frequently seen to be divided into anterior and posterior parts by a thin vertical line of cartilage, the anterior division being probably allied to the maxilloturbinal. Its middle, ventral, portion bears a_ stout, backwardly-directed uncinate process (processus uncinatus), which is applied to the medial surface of the maxilla. The ethmoturbinal proper consists, as described above, of several shorter scrolls, decreasing in length from above downward. Like the posterior part of the nasoturbinal, they are attached directly to the cribriform plate, the perforations of which may be seen in the divided skull opening into the ethmoidal scrolls ot spaces contained by them. They are roughly comparable to the superior and middle turbinated bones of the human skull, but in the rabbit, as in most mammals, the ethmoturbinal surfaces are relatively much more extensive than in man. In the typical mammalian skull the ethmoid bone is exposed to the orbit, where it forms a thin plate of bone, the lamina papyracea. In the rabbit, however, the space usually occupied by the lamina papyracea is partly filled by the lacrimal bone, the ethmoidal process of the orbitosphenoid and the sphenoorbital process of the maxilla. 11. THE INFERIOR TURBINATED BONE. The inferior turbinated bone (concha nasalis inferior), or maxilloturbinal, is a finely ridged structure, situated anteriorly in the nasal fossa, and supported by the maxilla and premaxilla. 152 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. It represents the similarly-named structure of the human skull, the lowermost of three scroll-like bones, of which the remaining two, the superior and middle turbinated bones, belong to the ethmo- turbinal. In the natural condition it is covered by a non-olfactory epithelium, and is thus distinguishable in function as well as in position from the latter. 12. THE MAXILLA. The maxilla, the largest element of the facial region, is asso- ciated with its fellow of the opposite side to form the main portion of the upper jaw. It consists of a central portion, the body (corpus maxillae), and of five processes, namely, alveolar, palatine, orbital, zygomatic, and sphenoorbital. In the adult condition the zygomatic bone is fused with the maxilla, so that the extent of the zygomatic process appears to be greatly increased. The body of the maxilla is greatly fenestrated on its external surface, the perforated area extending backward to the anterior rim of the orbit, and thus including the maxillary fossa and the infraorbital foramen. The dorsal boundary of the bone is formed by the frontal process of the premaxilla and by the maxillary process of the frontal. Anteriorly, it is united with the premaxilla, the ventral part of the suture appearing in the diastema separating the incisors from the cheek-teeth. The ventral portion of the bone forms part of the lateral boundary of the incisive foramen. Behind the palatine bridge it is applied to the lateral surface of the palatine bone, and is projected into the orbit as a broad ridge en- closing the alveoli of the four posterior cheek-teeth. In the divided skull the medial surface of the body of the maxilla is found to be concealed by the ethmoturbinal. It contains a deep longitudinal excavation, the maxillary sinus (sinus maxillaris), widely open to the nasal fossa, but only seen to advantage when the ethmoturbinal is removed. The lateral wall of che sinus corres- ponds in position to the fenestrated area of the external surface. It bears the chief part of the nasolacrimal canal. — The alveolar process (processus alveolaris) is that portion of the maxilla lodging the sockets of the cheek-teeth. In the rabbit a | —_— THE BONES OF THE SKULL. 153 it is separated by the diastema, in which no teeth occur, from a corresponding but imperfectly differentiated process of the pre- maxilla. The palatine process (processus palatinus) extends toward the median plane. It forms with its fellow of the opposite side about two-thirds of the palatine bridge. The orbital process (processus orbitalis) is directed obliquely toward the dorsal surface of the skull. In conjunction with the lacrimal bone and the maxillary process of the frontal, it forms the anterior orbital rim. It is continuous with the fenestrated portion of the body, and its appearance as a process is largely due to its solid character as compared with the perforated surface lying in front of it. The zygomatic process (processus zygomaticus) forms the anterior root of the zygomatic arch, and in the adult condition has fused with it the anterior end of the zygomatic bone. Its ventral angle bears a prominent masseteric spine for the attach- ment of the ligament of the masseter muscle. The sphenoorbital process (processus sphenoorbitalis) lies on the medial wall of the orbit, in a position opposite to the middle portion of the ridge lodging the posterior cheek-teeth. It forms a stout buttress, the tip of which is applied to the anteroventral angle of the frontal bone. In this position it is visible from the orbit, lying between the lacrimal bone and the ethmoidal process of the orbitosphenoid. 13. THE PREMAXILLA. The premaxilla, or incisive bone (os incisivum), forms the anterior portion of the upper jaw. It comprises a central portion, the body—including with the latter the scarcely differentiated alveolar portion containing the large and small incisors—a frontal process, and a palatine process. The body forms a portion of the palatal surface of the skull and of the lateral boun- dary of the incisive foramen. Its dorsal surface forms part of the boundary of the piriform aperture, the remaining portion of this 154 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. being formed by the nasal bone. The palatine process extends backward on the medial side of the bone, closely applied on the palatal surface to its fellow of the opposite side, and forms in this way a medial boundary for the incisive foramen. Its dorsal surface, in conjunction with that of the corresponding process of the other side, bears a broad palatine groove (sulcus palatinus), lodging a portion of the cartilage of the vomeronasal organ and nasopalatine duct. The frontal process (processus frontalis) is a thin bony splint, extending backward between the nasal and maxillary bones, and terminating between the former and the maxillary process of the frontal. 14. THE ZYGOMATIC BONE. The zygomatic bone (os zygomaticum) is a separate element only in very young animals. In the adult it is fused anteriorly with the zygomatic process of the maxilla, the position of the original suture being roughly identifiable as the point where the free horizontal portion of the zygomatic arch arises from the transverse zygomatic process. It forms an almost sagittal plate of bone bridging the orbit and serving for the attachment of the masseter muscle of the mandible. Its dorsal margin forms posteriorly a smooth, horizontal articulation with the zygomatic process of the squamosal, the end of the bone projecting considerably behind the articulation. 15. THE NASAL BONE. The nasal bone (os nasale) is a thin, elongated bone forming the roof of the nasal fossa, and, in conjunction with its fellow of the opposite side, the dorsal boundary of the piriform aperture. It is loosely articulated with the maxilla and with the bone of the opposite side by smooth (harmonic) sutures. The medial margin is supported by the dorsal edge of the nasal septum. The internal surface bears the nasoturbinal scroll. ee THE BONES OF THE SKULL. 155 16. THE VOMER. The vomer is the median, somewhat sickle-shaped, vertical plate of bone separating the ventral portions of the nasal fossae. It is visible from the palatal surface through the incisive foramina, but its extent is best shown in the divided skull. It forms a support for the ventral border of the nasal septum, and its pos- terior portion bears a shelf-like projection, the ala vomeris, which assists in the support of the ethmoturbinal. 17. THE LACRIMAL BONE. The lacrimal bone (os lacrimale) is a small element lying in the anterior wall of the orbit. It is loosely articulated with the sur- rounding bones, and in the dried skull is frequently missing unless care has been taken to keep it in place. It consists of a basal portion, somewhat rectangular on its orbital surface, and of two processes, namely, the subcutaneous process and the hamulus lacrimalis. The subcutaneous process is the prominent hook-like projection extending laterad beyond the orbital rim. The hamulus lacrimalis isa small process, directed toward the nasal cavity. It bears a groove which, in association with a corresponding groove of the maxillary bone, forms the first portion of the nasolacrimal canal. 18. THE PALATINE BONE. The palatine bone (os palatinum) forms the poste ior portion of the palatine bridge and the major portion of the lateral wall of the nasopharynx. It consists of two portions—horizontal, and perpendicular. The horizontal portion (pars horizontalis) is that lying in the plane of the palatal surface. It is articulated in front with the palatine process of the maxilla, the suture between the two bones enclosing the greater palatine foramen, the ventral termination of the pterygopalatine canal. The perpen- dicular portion (pars perpendicularis) is the vertical plate ex- tending backward from the palatine bridge. Its medial surface is divided by a low ridge into a dorsal portion, in particular relation to the nasopharynx, and a ventral portion, in relation to the oral 156 ANATOMY OF THE RABBIT. cavity, the ridge indicating the position of the soft palate. Its lateral surface is partly applied to the maxilla and partly exposed to the orbit. Its dorsal margin is articulated with the presphenoid and with the ethmoidal process of orbitosphenoid, but a small posterior portion is free, so that the anterior portion of the basi- sphenoid is visible from the orbit. The free ventral margin forms posteriorly a thick projecting angle, the pyramidal process (processus pyramidalis), the base of which is cleft where it articulates with the medial and lateral laminae of the pterygoid process. Between the pyramidal process and the alveolus of the last cheek- tooth there is a conspicuous palatine notch (incisura palatina), connecting the orbit with the palatal surface. In the entire skull only the posterior portion of the lateral surface is visible from the orbit,-the anterior portion being concealed by the projecting bases of the posterior cheek-teeth. The ridge of bone on which the alveoli of these teeth are borne is separated from the palatine bone by the infraorbital groove. The medial wall of the latter, formed by the palatine bone, contains the orbital opening of the pterygopalatine canal and the sphenopalatine foramen. 19. THE MANDIBLE. The mandible (mandibula), or lower jaw, comprises the two dentary bones (ossa dentalia), which, in che rabbit, as in mammals generally, are united by a fibrous or fibrocartilaginous connection (symphysis mandibulag); not coalesced, as in the human skull, to form a continuous siructure. As indicated above, each of the dentary bones comprises: (1) a horizontal, tooth-bearing portion which, in conjunction with that of the opposite side, forms the body of the mandible (corpus mandibulae); and (2) a posterior, vertical plate, the mandibular ramus (ramus mandibulae), for muscle attachment and articulation. The horizontal portion is deep posteriorly, where it lodges the alveoli of the cheek-teeth. Anteriorly, in the diastema separating the latter from the incisors, its dorsal surface is rounded and depressed, the space thus formed corresponding to a similar space in the upper jaw and serving chiefly for the accom.nodation of the lips, which in this region en- croach medially on the oral cavity. The medial surface of the ae 6 Petes res ks eae ee i a ee THE BONES OF THE SKULL. 157 horizontal portion forms an acute angle with that of the bone of the opposite side, except anteriorly, where it bears a roughened area for articulation with the latter. Running backward from the symphysis there is a broad horizontal ridge, representing the mylohyoid line (linea mylohyoidea), the line of attachment of the mylohyoid muscle. The mandibular foramen, through which, in the natural condition, the inferior alveolar nerve and artery gain access to the interior of the bone, lies on this surface at the junction of the horizontal portion with the ramus. The corres- ponding mental foramen (foramen mentale), through which branches of these structures leave the mandible, is situated on the lateral surface in front of the first premolar. The mandibular foramen is closely connected with a second aperture lying at the ventral end of the sulcus ascendens, directly behind the last molar, and serving for the transmission of a vein connecting the inferior alveolar and inferior orbital veins. The mandibular ramus forms in general an obtuse angle with the horizontal portion. As in other herbivores, the ventral part, distinguished as the angle, is greatly increased in size at the expense of the condyloid process and to a still greater extent of the coronoid process, the latter being vestigial. In addition to a low pterygoid tuberosity (tuberositas pterygoidea), situated at the posterior projecting point of the angle, the posterior and ventral margins of the angle are excavated on the medial side of the bone, so that they form the boundary of a pronounced, though shallow, inferior pterygoid depression for the insertion of the ptery- goideus internus muscle. The area occupied by the pterygoideus internus is separated by a low ridge from a more dorsally placed superior depression for the pterygoideus externus muscle.