On the structure of the intestinal villi in man and certain of the mammalia, with some observations on digestion, and the absorption of chyle / by John Goodsir.

Date:
[1845]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the structure of the intestinal villi in man and certain of the mammalia, with some observations on digestion, and the absorption of chyle / by John Goodsir. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    C * On the structure of the Intestinal Villi in Man and certain of the Mammalia, with some observations on Digestion, and the Absorption of Chyle. By John Goodsir, Esq., M. W. S>. Surgeon, and Conservator of the Museum of the Hoy. Coll. Surgeons, Edinburgh. Mr Cruikshank, in treating of the orifices of the Lacteals and Lymphatics,* states that he and Dr William Hunter ob- served the openings by which the lacteals communicated with the cavity of the gut in portions of the intestine of a woman who died after eating a hearty supper. The two preparations of the intestine on which these celebrated anatomists made their observations came into the possession of the College o Surgeons in Edinburgh, as part of the collection of the late Sir Charles Bell. When employed lately in removing these interesting specimens into fresh spirits, I availed myself of the opportunity of examining into the nature of the appearances described and figured by Mr Cruikshank.t I removed one of the villi from Mr Cruikshank’s prepara- tion^ placed it between two glass plates, aitf had no diffi- culty in recognising what had been described and figured by the original owner of the preparation. With a low power the extremity of the villus appeared bulbous and opaque. With a higher power I observed that this opacity was due to the existence, at the extremity of the villus, of a number of vesi- cles of different sizes. The larger vesicles were pretty uni- form in size, and about twenty in number. The smaller were of different sizes and more numerous, and appeared gradually to pass into the granular looking tissue of the attached extre- mity of the villus. No blood-vessels could be detected, but along the neck of the villus distinct traces of two or more opaque lacteals were visible. The vesicles and the lacteals, when * William Cruikshank. The Anatomy of the Absorbing Vessels of the Human Body, 2d Ed. 1790, page 50. t Loc. Cit. Plate 11, figs. 2, 3. t xiii. 4 N. 49, Bell Catalogue. Riq 73<*