Veterinary anatomy

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1906 Excerpt: ... duodenum; /, mucous coat of ditto. been found to unite before reaching the wall of the duodenum, thus forming a short, single canal, termed the ductus communis. The opening is guarded by a prominent circular fold of mucous membrane, the eminence of Vater, which serves as a valve, preventing the entrance of food from the duodenum. The ductus choledochus and larger bile tubes consist of an external fibrous and slightly muscular coat, and an internal mucous coat, lined with columnar epithelium, and studded with numerous glands. The nerves come from the solar plexus, with branches from the pneumogastric and diaphragmatic nerves. The blood of the portal vein, returned chiefly from the abdominal alimentary canal, is charged with bile, which it is the principal function of the liver to remove. This is achieved by the vital power of the hepatic cells, while the blood is passing through the intralobular capillaries. The blood thus deprived of bile, passes into the intralobular veins, and so into the sublobular and hepatic veins, while the bile gains the bile tubes, and ultimately the hepatic duct, to be poured again into the intestine. Bile is a greenish-yellow, viscid fluid, with an alkaline reaction; it is believed to stimulate peristaltic action, and the secretions of the glands in the mucous membrane. In soiipedes, also in the elephant and hyrax, the secretion of bile, although more active daring digestion, is constant, there being no reservoir for it. Most animal are, however, provided with a gall bladder, lodged in a fissure on the posterior surface of the gland, in which the bile accumulates during the period of abstinence, and from which it passes into the intestinal canal when digestion commences. PANCREAS. The pancreas is a compound conglomerate gland, an...