| OCR Text |
Show 578 ON THE CARDINAL VEIN IN THE RABBIT. [June 17, instead of, as in the ordinary Rabbit, ending or (more correctly) beginning in its branches, the intercostal veins, the azygos vein pierced the diaphragm by an aperture to the right of that of the aorta, and continued its course posteriorly with a very slight diminution in size and in the same relative position as in the thorax with regard to the aorta and the vertebral column. At the point where the posterior vena cava reached the dorsal wall of the abdominal cavity, the aorta curved slightly upwards and ran dorsally to the cava; the azygos continuing its course in a straight line, ran parallel with and to the right of that vein, finally opening into it by a large aperture on the right side about half an inch above where it received the right renal vein. Since this aperture was as large as the vein it opened into, the anterior part of the latter might be regarded as a branch of the azygos, the posterior part becoming V.C.I Diagram showing abnormal relations of the Azygos Vein in a Rabbit. Az., azygos vein. V.C.I, vena cava posterior. R.V., right renal vein. R.A., right auricle. R.K., right kidney. the prolongation of that vein, and not the posterior vena cava. The total length of the vein from its junction with the anterior to where it joined (or received) the posterior vena cava was six inches. Its relatively large size would naturally lead one to the supposition that the greater part of the blood brought by the iliacs, femoral, and other branches of the posterior vena cava from the posterior ends of the body was returned direct to the right auricle by means of this extra- |
