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Part One
Of the parts of animals some are simple: to
wit, all such as divide into parts
uniform
with themselves, as flesh into flesh;
others
are composite, such as divide into
parts
not uniform with themselves, as, for
instance,
the hand does not divide into hands
nor the
face into faces.
And of such as these, some are called
not
parts merely, but limbs or members.
Such
are those parts that, while entire
in themselves,
have within themselves other diverse
parts:
as for instance, the head, foot, hand,
the
arm as a whole, the chest; for these
are
all in themselves entire parts, and
there
are other diverse parts belonging to
them.
All those parts that do not subdivide
into
parts uniform with themselves are composed
of parts that do so subdivide, for
instance,
hand is composed of flesh, sinews,
and bones.
Of animals, some resemble one another
in
all their parts, while others have
parts
wherein they differ. Sometimes the
parts
are identical in form or species, as,
for
instance, one man's nose or eye resembles
another man's nose or eye, flesh flesh,
and
bone bone; and in like manner with
a horse,
and with all other animals which we
reckon
to be of one and the same species:
for as
the whole is to the whole, so each
to each
are the parts severally. In other cases
the
parts are identical, save only for
a difference
in the way of excess or defect, as
is the
case in such animals as are of one
and the
same genus. By 'genus' I mean, for
instance,
Bird or Fish, for each of these is
subject
to difference in respect of its genus,
and
there are many species of fishes and
of birds.
Within the limits of genera, most of
the
parts as a rule exhibit differences
through
contrast of the property or accident,
such
as colour and shape, to which they
are subject:
in that some are more and some in a
less
degree the subject of the same property
or
accident; and also in the way of multitude
or fewness, magnitude or parvitude,
in short
in the way of excess or defect. Thus
in some
the texture of the flesh is soft, in
others
firm; some have a long bill, others
a short
one; some have abundance of feathers,
others
have only a small quantity. It happens
further
that some have parts that others have
not:
for instance, some have spurs and others
not, some have crests and others not;
but
as a general rule, most parts and those
that
go to make up the bulk of the body
are either
identical with one another, or differ
from
one another in the way of contrast
and of
excess and defect. For 'the more' and
'the
less' may be represented as 'excess'
or 'defect'.
Once again, we may have to do with
animals
whose parts are neither identical in
form
nor yet identical save for differences
in
the way of excess or defect: but they
are
the same only in the way of analogy,
as,
for instance, bone is only analogous
to fish-bone,
nail to hoof, hand to claw, and scale
to
feather; for what the feather is in
a bird,
the scale is in a fish.
The parts, then, which animals severally
possess are diverse from, or identical
with,
one another in the fashion above described.
And they are so furthermore in the
way of
local disposition: for many animals
have
identical organs that differ in position;
for instance, some have teats in the
breast,
others close to the thighs.
Of the substances that are composed
of parts
uniform (or homogeneous) with themselves,
some are soft and moist, others are
dry and
solid. The soft and moist are such
either
absolutely or so long as they are in
their
natural conditions, as, for instance,
blood,
serum, lard, suet, marrow, sperm, gall,
milk
in such as have it flesh and the like;
and
also, in a different way, the superfluities,
as phlegm and the excretions of the
belly
and the bladder. The dry and solid
are such
as sinew, skin, vein, hair, bone, gristle,
nail, horn (a term which as applied
to the
part involves an ambiguity, since the
whole
also by virtue of its form is designated
horn), and such parts as present an
analogy
to these.
Animals differ from one another in
their
modes of subsistence, in their actions,
in
their habits, and in their parts. Concerning
these differences we shall first speak
in
broad and general terms, and subsequently
we shall treat of the same with close
reference
to each particular genus.
Differences are manifested in modes
of subsistence,
in habits, in actions performed. For
instance,
some animals live in water and others
on
land. And of those that live in water
some
do so in one way, and some in another:
that
is to say, some live and feed in the
water,
take in and emit water, and cannot
live if
deprived of water, as is the case with
the
great majority of fishes; others get
their
food and spend their days in the water,
but
do not take in water but air, nor do
they
bring forth in the water. Many of these
creatures
are furnished with feet, as the otter,
the
beaver, and the crocodile; some are
furnished
with wings, as the diver and the grebe;
some
are destitute of feet, as the water-snake.
Some creatures get their living in
the water
and cannot exist outside it: but for
all
that do not take in either air or water,
as, for instance, the sea-nettle and
the
oyster. And of creatures that live
in the
water some live in the sea, some in
rivers,
some in lakes, and some in marshes,
as the
frog and the newt.
Of animals that live on dry land some
take
in air and emit it, which phenomena
are termed
'inhalation' and 'exhalation'; as,
for instance,
man and all such land animals as are
furnished
with lungs. Others, again, do not inhale
air, yet live and find their sustenance
on
dry land; as, for instance, the wasp,
the
bee, and all other insects. And by
'insects'
I mean such creatures as have nicks
or notches
on their bodies, either on their bellies
or on both backs and bellies.
And of land animals many, as has been
said,
derive their subsistence from the water;
but of creatures that live in and inhale
water not a single one derives its
subsistence
from dry land.
Some animals at first live in water,
and
by and by change their shape and live
out
of water, as is the case with river
worms,
for out of these the gadfly develops.
Furthermore, some animals are stationary,
and some are erratic. Stationary animals
are found in water, but no such creature
is found on dry land. In the water
are many
creatures that live in close adhesion
to
an external object, as is the case
with several
kinds of oyster. And, by the way, the
sponge
appears to be endowed with a certain
sensibility:
as a proof of which it is alleged that
the
difficulty in detaching it from its
moorings
is increased if the movement to detach
it
be not covertly applied.
Other creatures adhere at one time
to an
object and detach themselves from it
at other
times, as is the case with a species
of the
so-called sea-nettle; for some of these
creatures
seek their food in the night-time loose
and
unattached.
Many creatures are unattached but motionless,
as is the case with oysters and the
so-called
holothuria. Some can swim, as, for
instance,
fishes, molluscs, and crustaceans,
such as
the crawfish. But some of these last
move
by walking, as the crab, for it is
the nature
of the creature, though it lives in
water,
to move by walking.
Of land animals some are furnished
with wings,
such as birds and bees, and these are
so
furnished in different ways one from
another;
others are furnished with feet. Of
the animals
that are furnished with feet some walk,
some
creep, and some wriggle. But no creature
is able only to move by flying, as
the fish
is able only to swim, for the animals
with
leathern wings can walk; the bat has
feet
and the seal has imperfect feet.
Some birds have feet of little power,
and
are therefore called Apodes. This little
bird is powerful on the wing; and,
as a rule,
birds that resemble it are weak-footed
and
strong winged, such as the swallow
and the
drepanis or (?) Alpine swift; for all
these
birds resemble one another in their
habits
and in their plumage, and may easily
be mistaken
one for another. (The apus is to be
seen
at all seasons, but the drepanis only
after
rainy weather in summer; for this is
the
time when it is seen and captured,
though,
as a general rule, it is a rare bird.)
Again, some animals move by walking
on the
ground as well as by swimming in water.
Furthermore, the following differences
are
manifest in their modes of living and
in
their actions. Some are gregarious,
some
are solitary, whether they be furnished
with
feet or wings or be fitted for a life
in
the water; and some partake of both
characters,
the solitary and the gregarious. And
of the
gregarious, some are disposed to combine
for social purposes, others to live
each
for its own self.
Gregarious creatures are, among birds,
such
as the pigeon, the crane, and the swan;
and,
by the way, no bird furnished with
crooked
talons is gregarious. Of creatures
that live
in water many kinds of fishes are gregarious,
such as the so-called migrants, the
tunny,
the pelamys, and the bonito.
Man, by the way, presents a mixture
of the
two characters, the gregarious and
the solitary.
Social creatures are such as have some
one
common object in view; and this property
is not common to all creatures that
are gregarious.
Such social creatures are man, the
bee, the
wasp, the ant, and the crane.
Again, of these social creatures some
submit
to a ruler, others are subject to no
governance:
as, for instance, the crane and the
several
sorts of bee submit to a ruler, whereas
ants
and numerous other creatures are every
one
his own master.
And again, both of gregarious and of
solitary
animals, some are attached to a fixed
home
and others are erratic or nomad.
Also, some are carnivorous, some graminivorous,
some omnivorous: whilst some feed on
a peculiar
diet, as for instance the bees and
the spiders,
for the bee lives on honey and certain
other
sweets, and the spider lives by catching
flies; and some creatures live on fish.
Again,
some creatures catch their food, others
treasure
it up; whereas others do not so.
Some creatures provide themselves with
a
dwelling, others go without one: of
the former
kind are the mole, the mouse, the ant,
the
bee; of the latter kind are many insects
and quadrupeds. Further, in respect
to locality
of dwelling place, some creatures dwell
under
ground, as the lizard and the snake;
others
live on the surface of the ground,
as the
horse and the dog. make to themselves
holes,
others do not
Some are nocturnal, as the owl and
the bat;
others live in the daylight.
Moreover, some creatures are tame and
some
are wild: some are at all times tame,
as
man and the mule; others are at all
times
savage, as the leopard and the wolf;
and
some creatures can be rapidly tamed,
as the
elephant.
Again, we may regard animals in another
light.
For, whenever a race of animals is
found
domesticated, the same is always to
be found
in a wild condition; as we find to
be the
case with horses, kine, swine, (men),
sheep,
goats, and dogs.
Further, some animals emit sound while
others
are mute, and some are endowed with
voice:
of these latter some have articulate
speech,
while others are inarticulate; some
are given
to continual chirping and twittering
some
are prone to silence; some are musical,
and
some unmusical; but all animals without
exception
exercise their power of singing or
chattering
chiefly in connexion with the intercourse
of the sexes.
Again, some creatures live in the fields,
as the cushat; some on the mountains,
as
the hoopoe; some frequent the abodes
of men,
as the pigeon.
Some, again, are peculiarly salacious,
as
the partridge, the barn-door cock and
their
congeners; others are inclined to chastity,
as the whole tribe of crows, for birds
of
this kind indulge but rarely in sexual
intercourse.
Of marine animals, again, some live
in the
open seas, some near the shore, some
on rocks.
Furthermore, some are combative under
offence;
others are provident for defence. Of
the
former kind are such as act as aggressors
upon others or retaliate when subjected
to
ill usage, and of the latter kind are
such
as merely have some means of guarding
themselves
against attack.
Animals also differ from one another
in regard
to character in the following respects.
Some
are good-tempered, sluggish, and little
prone
to ferocity, as the ox; others are
quick
tempered, ferocious and unteachable,
as the
wild boar; some are intelligent and
timid,
as the stag and the hare; others are
mean
and treacherous, as the snake; others
are
noble and courageous and high-bred,
as the
lion; others are thorough-bred and
wild and
treacherous, as the wolf: for, by the
way,
an animal is highbred if it come from
a noble
stock, and an animal is thorough-bred
if
it does not deflect from its racial
characteristics.
Further, some are crafty and mischievous,
as the fox; some are spirited and affectionate
and fawning, as the dog; others are
easy-tempered
and easily domesticated, as the elephant;
others are cautious and watchful, as
the
goose; others are jealous and self-conceited,
as the peacock. But of all animals
man alone
is capable of deliberation.
Many animals have memory, and are capable
of instruction; but no other creature
except
man can recall the past at will.
With regard to the several genera of
animals,
particulars as to their habits of life
and
modes of existence will be discussed
more
fully by and by.
Part 2
Common to all animals are the organs
whereby
they take food and the organs where
into
they take it; and these are either
identical
with one another, or are diverse in
the ways
above specified: to wit, either identical
in form, or varying in respect of excess
or defect, or resembling one another
analogically,
or differing in position.
Furthermore, the great majority of
animals
have other organs besides these in
common,
whereby they discharge the residuum
of their
food: I say, the great majority, for
this
statement does not apply to all. And,
by
the way, the organ whereby food is
taken
in is called the mouth, and the organ
whereinto
it is taken, the belly; the remainder
of
the alimentary system has a great variety
of names.
Now the residuum of food is twofold
in kind,
wet and dry, and such creatures as
have organs
receptive of wet residuum are invariably
found with organs receptive of dry
residuum;
but such as have organs receptive of
dry
residuum need not possess organs receptive
of wet residuum. In other words, an
animal
has a bowel or intestine if it have
a bladder;
but an animal may have a bowel and
be without
a bladder. And, by the way, I may here
remark
that the organ receptive of wet residuum
is termed 'bladder', and the organ
receptive
of dry residuum 'intestine or 'bowel'.
Part 3
Of animals otherwise, a great many
have,
besides the organs above-mentioned,
an organ
for excretion of the sperm: and of
animals
capable of generation one secretes
into another,
and the other into itself. The latter
is
termed 'female', and the former 'male';
but
some animals have neither male nor
female.
Consequently, the organs connected
with this
function differ in form, for some animals
have a womb and others an organ analogous
thereto.
The above-mentioned organs, then, are
the
most indispensable parts of animals;
and
with some of them all animals without
exception,
and with others animals for the most
part,
must needs be provided.
One sense, and one alone, is common
to all
animals-the sense of touch. Consequently,
there is no special name for the organ
in
which it has its seat; for in some
groups
of animals the organ is identical,
in others
it is only analogous.
Part 4
Every animal is supplied with moisture,
and,
if the animal be deprived of the same
by
natural causes or artificial means,
death
ensues: further, every animal has another
part in which the moisture is contained.
These parts are blood and vein, and
in other
animals there is something to correspond;
but in these latter the parts are imperfect,
being merely fibre and serum or lymph.
Touch has its seat in a part uniform
and
homogeneous, as in the flesh or something
of the kind, and generally, with animals
supplied with blood, in the parts charged
with blood. In other animals it has
its seat
in parts analogous to the parts charged
with
blood; but in all cases it is seated
in parts
that in their texture are homogeneous.
The active faculties, on the contrary,
are
seated in the parts that are heterogeneous:
as, for instance, the business of preparing
the food is seated in the mouth, and
the
office of locomotion in the feet, the
wings,
or in organs to correspond.
Again, some animals are supplied with
blood,
as man, the horse, and all such animals
as
are, when full-grown, either destitute
of
feet, or two-footed, or four-footed;
other
animals are bloodless, such as the
bee and
the wasp, and, of marine animals, the
cuttle-fish,
the crawfish, and all such animals
as have
more than four feet.
Part 5
Again, some animals are viviparous,
others
oviparous, others vermiparous or 'grub-bearing'.
Some are viviparous, such as man, the
horse,
the seal, and all other animals that
are
hair-coated, and, of marine animals,
the
cetaceans, as the dolphin, and the
so-called
Selachia. (Of these latter animals,
some
have a tubular air-passage and no gills,
as the dolphin and the whale: the dolphin
with the air-passage going through
its back,
the whale with the air-passage in its
forehead;
others have uncovered gills, as the
Selachia,
the sharks and rays.)
What we term an egg is a certain completed
result of conception out of which the
animal
that is to be develops, and in such
a way
that in respect to its primitive germ
it
comes from part only of the egg, while
the
rest serves for food as the germ develops.
A 'grub' on the other hand is a thing
out
of which in its entirety the animal
in its
entirety develops, by differentiation
and
growth of the embryo.
Of viviparous animals, some hatch eggs
in
their own interior, as creatures of
the shark
kind; others engender in their interior
a
live foetus, as man and the horse.
When the
result of conception is perfected,
with some
animals a living creature is brought
forth,
with others an egg is brought to light,
with
others a grub. Of the eggs, some have
egg-shells
and are of two different colours within,
such as birds' eggs; others are soft-skinned
and of uniform colour, as the eggs
of animals
of the shark kind. Of the grubs, some
are
from the first capable of movement,
others
are motionless. However, with regard
to these
phenomena we shall speak precisely
hereafter
when we come to treat of Generation.
Furthermore, some animals have feet
and some
are destitute thereof. Of such as have
feet
some animals have two, as is the case
with
men and birds, and with men and birds
only;
some have four, as the lizard and the
dog;
some have more, as the centipede and
the
bee; but allsoever that have feet have
an
even number of them.
Of swimming creatures that are destitute
of feet, some have winglets or fins,
as fishes:
and of these some have four fins, two
above
on the back, two below on the belly,
as the
gilthead and the basse; some have two
only,-to
wit, such as are exceedingly long and
smooth,
as the eel and the conger; some have
none
at all, as the muraena, but use the
sea just
as snakes use dry ground-and by the
way,
snakes swim in water in just the same
way.
Of the shark-kind some have no fins,
such
as those that are flat and long-tailed,
as
the ray and the sting-ray, but these
fishes
swim actually by the undulatory motion
of
their flat bodies; the fishing frog,
however,
has fins, and so likewise have all
such fishes
as have not their flat surfaces thinned
off
to a sharp edge.
Of those swimming creatures that appear
to
have feet, as is the case with the
molluscs,
these creatures swim by the aid of
their
feet and their fins as well, and they
swim
most rapidly backwards in the direction
of
the trunk, as is the case with the
cuttle-fish
or sepia and the calamary; and, by
the way,
neither of these latter can walk as
the poulpe
or octopus can.
The hard-skinned or crustaceous animals,
like the crawfish, swim by the instrumentality
of their tail-parts; and they swim
most rapidly
tail foremost, by the aid of the fins
developed
upon that member. The newt swims by
means
of its feet and tail; and its tail
resembles
that of the sheatfish, to compare little
with great.
Of animals that can fly some are furnished
with feathered wings, as the eagle
and the
hawk; some are furnished with membranous
wings, as the bee and the cockchafer;
others
are furnished with leathern wings,
as the
flying fox and the bat. All flying
creatures
possessed of blood have feathered wings
or
leathern wings; the bloodless creatures
have
membranous wings, as insects. The creatures
that have feathered wings or leathern
wings
have either two feet or no feet at
all: for
there are said to be certain flying
serpents
in Ethiopia that are destitute of feet.
Creatures that have feathered wings
are classed
as a genus under the name of 'bird';
the
other two genera, the leathern-winged
and
membrane-winged, are as yet without
a generic
title.
Of creatures that can fly and are bloodless
some are coleopterous or sheath-winged,
for
they have their wings in a sheath or
shard,
like the cockchafer and the dung-beetle;
others are sheathless, and of these
latter
some are dipterous and some tetrapterous:
tetrapterous, such as are comparatively
large
or have their stings in the tail, dipterous,
such as are comparatively small or
have their
stings in front. The coleoptera are,
without
exception, devoid of stings; the diptera
have the sting in front, as the fly,
the
horsefly, the gadfly, and the gnat.
Bloodless animals as a general rule
are inferior
in point of size to blooded animals;
though,
by the way, there are found in the
sea some
few bloodless creatures of abnormal
size,
as in the case of certain molluscs.
And of
these bloodless genera, those are the
largest
that dwell in milder climates, and
those
that inhabit the sea are larger than
those
living on dry land or in fresh water.
All creatures that are capable of motion
move with four or more points of motion;
the blooded animals with four only:
as, for
instance, man with two hands and two
feet,
birds with two wings and two feet,
quadrupeds
and fishes severally with four feet
and four
fins. Creatures that have two winglets
or
fins, or that have none at all like
serpents,
move all the same with not less than
four
points of motion; for there are four
bends
in their bodies as they move, or two
bends
together with their fins. Bloodless
and many
footed animals, whether furnished with
wings
or feet, move with more than four points
of motion; as, for instance, the dayfly
moves
with four feet and four wings: and,
I may
observe in passing, this creature is
exceptional
not only in regard to the duration
of its
existence, whence it receives its name,
but
also because though a quadruped it
has wings
also.
All animals move alike, four-footed
and many-footed;
in other words, they all move cross-corner-wise.
And animals in general have two feet
in advance;
the crab alone has four.
Part 6
Very extensive genera of animals, into
which
other subdivisions fall, are the following:
one, of birds; one, of fishes; and
another,
of cetaceans. Now all these creatures
are
blooded.
There is another genus of the hard-shell
kind, which is called oyster; another
of
the soft-shell kind, not as yet designated
by a single term, such as the spiny
crawfish
and the various kinds of crabs and
lobsters;
and another of molluscs, as the two
kinds
of calamary and the cuttle-fish; that
of
insects is different. All these latter
creatures
are bloodless, and such of them as
have feet
have a goodly number of them; and of
the
insects some have wings as well as
feet.
Of the other animals the genera are
not extensive.
For in them one species does not comprehend
many species; but in one case, as man,
the
species is simple, admitting of no
differentiation,
while other cases admit of differentiation,
but the forms lack particular designations.
So, for instance, creatures that are
qudapedal
and unprovided with wings are blooded
without
exception, but some of them are viviparous,
and some oviparous. Such as are viviparous
are hair-coated, and such as are oviparous
are covered with a kind of tessellated
hard
substance; and the tessellated bits
of this
substance are, as it were, similar
in regard
to position to a scale.
An animal that is blooded and capable
of
movement on dry land, but is naturally
unprovided
with feet, belongs to the serpent genus;
and animals of this genus are coated
with
the tessellated horny substance. Serpents
in general are oviparous; the adder,
an exceptional
case, is viviparous: for not all viviparous
animals are hair-coated, and some fishes
also are viviparous.
All animals, however, that are hair-coated
are viviparous. For, by the way, one
must
regard as a kind of hair such prickly
hairs
as hedgehogs and porcupines carry;
for these
spines perform the office of hair,
and not
of feet as is the case with similar
parts
of sea-urchins.
In the genus that combines all viviparous
quadrupeds are many species, but under
no
common appellation. They are only named
as
it were one by one, as we say man,
lion,
stag, horse, dog, and so on; though,
by the
way, there is a sort of genus that
embraces
all creatures that have bushy manes
and bushy
tails, such as the horse, the ass,
the mule,
the jennet, and the animals that are
called
Hemioni in Syria,-from their externally
resembling
mules, though they are not strictly
of the
same species. And that they are not
so is
proved by the fact that they mate with
and
breed from one another. For all these
reasons,
we must take animals species by species,
and discuss their peculiarities severally'
These preceding statements, then, have
been
put forward thus in a general way,
as a kind
of foretaste of the number of subjects
and
of the properties that we have to consider
in order that we may first get a clear
notion
of distinctive character and common
properties.
By and by we shall discuss these matters
with greater minuteness.
After this we shall pass on to the
discussion
of causes. For to do this when the
investigation
of the details is complete is the proper
and natural method, and that whereby
the
subjects and the premisses of our argument
will afterwards be rendered plain.
In the first place we must look to
the constituent
parts of animals. For it is in a way
relative
to these parts, first and foremost,
that
animals in their entirety differ from
one
another: either in the fact that some
have
this or that, while they have not that
or
this; or by peculiarities of position
or
of arrangement; or by the differences
that
have been previously mentioned, depending
upon diversity of form, or excess or
defect
in this or that particular, on analogy,
or
on contrasts of the accidental qualities.
To begin with, we must take into consideration
the parts of Man. For, just as each
nation
is wont to reckon by that monetary
standard
with which it is most familiar, so
must we
do in other matters. And, of course,
man
is the animal with which we are all
of us
the most familiar.
Now the parts are obvious enough to
physical
perception. However, with the view
of observing
due order and sequence and of combining
rational
notions with physical perception, we
shall
proceed to enumerate the parts: firstly,
the organic, and afterwards the simple
or
non-composite.
Part 7
The chief parts into which the body
as a
whole is subdivided, are the head,
the neck,
the trunk (extending from the neck
to the
privy parts), which is called the thorax,
two arms and two legs.
Of the parts of which the head is composed
the hair-covered portion is called
the 'skull'.
The front portion of it is termed 'bregma'
or 'sinciput', developed after birth-for
it is the last of all the bones in
the body
to acquire solidity,-the hinder part
is termed
the 'occiput', and the part intervening
between
the sinciput and the occiput is the
'crown'.
The brain lies underneath the sinciput;
the
occiput is hollow. The skull consists
entirely
of thin bone, rounded in shape, and
contained
within a wrapper of fleshless skin.
The skull has sutures: one, of circular
form,
in the case of women; in the case of
men,
as a general rule, three meeting at
a point.
Instances have been known of a man's
skull
devoid of suture altogether. In the
skull
the middle line, where the hair parts,
is
called the crown or vertex. In some
cases
the parting is double; that is to say,
some
men are double crowned, not in regard
to
the bony skull, but in consequence
of the
double fall or set of the hair.
Part 8
The part that lies under the skull
is called
the 'face': but in the case of man
only,
for the term is not applied to a fish
or
to an ox. In the face the part below
the
sinciput and between the eyes is termed
the
forehead. When men have large foreheads,
they are slow to move; when they have
small
ones, they are fickle; when they have
broad
ones, they are apt to be distraught;
when
they have foreheads rounded or bulging
out,
they are quick-tempered.
Part 9
Underneath the forehead are two eyebrows.
Straight eyebrows are a sign of softness
of disposition; such as curve in towards
the nose, of harshness; such as curve
out
towards the temples, of humour and
dissimulation;
such as are drawn in towards one another,
of jealousy.
Under the eyebrows come the eyes. These
are
naturally two in number. Each of them
has
an upper and a lower eyelid, and the
hairs
on the edges of these are termed 'eyelashes'.
The central part of the eye includes
the
moist part whereby vision is effected,
termed
the 'pupil', and the part surrounding
it
called the 'black'; the part outside
this
is the 'white'. A part common to the
upper
and lower eyelid is a pair of nicks
or corners,
one in the direction of the nose, and
the
other in the direction of the temples.
When
these are long they are a sign of bad
disposition;
if the side toward the nostril be fleshy
and comb-like, they are a sign of dishonesty.
All animals, as a general rule, are
provided
with eyes, excepting the ostracoderms
and
other imperfect creatures; at all events,
all viviparous animals have eyes, with
the
exception of the mole. And yet one
might
assert that, though the mole has not
eyes
in the full sense, yet it has eyes
in a kind
of a way. For in point of absolute
fact it
cannot see, and has no eyes visible
externally;
but when the outer skin is removed,
it is
found to have the place where eyes
are usually
situated, and the black parts of the
eyes
rightly situated, and all the place
that
is usually devoted on the outside to
eyes:
showing that the parts are stunted
in development,
and the skin allowed to grow over.
Part 10
Of the eye the white is pretty much
the same
in all creatures; but what is called
the
black differs in various animals. Some
have
the rim black, some distinctly blue,
some
greyish-blue, some greenish; and this
last
colour is the sign of an excellent
disposition,
and is particularly well adapted for
sharpness
of vision. Man is the only, or nearly
the
only, creature, that has eyes of diverse
colours. Animals, as a rule, have eyes
of
one colour only. Some horses have blue
eyes.
Of eyes, some are large, some small,
some
medium-sized; of these, the medium-sized
are the best. Moreover, eyes sometimes
protrude,
sometimes recede, sometimes are neither
protruding
nor receding. Of these, the receding
eye
is in all animals the most acute; but
the
last kind are the sign of the best
disposition.
Again, eyes are sometimes inclined
to wink
under observation, sometimes to remain
open
and staring, and sometimes are disposed
neither
to wink nor stare. The last kind are
the
sign of the best nature, and of the
others,
the latter kind indicates impudence,
and
the former indecision.
Part 11
Furthermore, there is a portion of
the head,
whereby an animal hears, a part incapable
of breathing, the 'ear'. I say 'incapable
of breathing', for Alcmaeon is mistaken
when
he says that goats inspire through
their
ears. Of the ear one part is unnamed,
the
other part is called the 'lobe'; and
it is
entirely composed of gristle and flesh.
The
ear is constructed internally like
the trumpet-shell,
and the innermost bone is like the
ear itself,
and into it at the end the sound makes
its
way, as into the bottom of a jar. This
receptacle
does not communicate by any passage
with
the brain, but does so with the palate,
and
a vein extends from the brain towards
it.
The eyes also are connected with the
brain,
and each of them lies at the end of
a little
vein. Of animals possessed of ears
man is
the only one that cannot move this
organ.
Of creatures possessed of hearing,
some have
ears, whilst others have none, but
merely
have the passages for ears visible,
as, for
example, feathered animals or animals
coated
with horny tessellates.
Viviparous animals, with the exception
of
the seal, the dolphin, and those others
which
after a similar fashion to these are
cetaceans,
are all provided with ears; for, by
the way,
the shark-kind are also viviparous.
Now,
the seal has the passages visible whereby
it hears; but the dolphin can hear,
but has
no ears, nor yet any passages visible.
But
man alone is unable to move his ears,
and
all other animals can move them. And
the
ears lie, with man, in the same horizontal
plane with the eyes, and not in a plane
above
them as is the case with some quadrupeds.
Of ears, some are fine, some are coarse,
and some are of medium texture; the
last
kind are best for hearing, but they
serve
in no way to indicate character. Some
ears
are large, some small, some medium-sized;
again, some stand out far, some lie
in close
and tight, and some take up a medium
position;
of these such as are of medium size
and of
medium position are indications of
the best
disposition, while the large and outstanding
ones indicate a tendency to irrelevant
talk
or chattering. The part intercepted
between
the eye, the ear, and the crown is
termed
the 'temple'. Again, there is a part
of the
countenance that serves as a passage
for
the breath, the 'nose'. For a man inhales
and exhales by this organ, and sneezing
is
effected by its means: which last is
an outward
rush of collected breath, and is the
only
mode of breath used as an omen and
regarded
as supernatural. Both inhalation and
exhalation
go right on from the nose towards the
chest;
and with the nostrils alone and separately
it is impossible to inhale or exhale,
owing
to the fact that the inspiration and
respiration
take place from the chest along the
windpipe,
and not by any portion connected with
the
head; and indeed it is possible for
a creature
to live without using this process
of nasal
respiration.
Again, smelling takes place by means
of the
nose,-smelling, or the sensible discrimination
of odour. And the nostril admits of
easy
motion, and is not, like the ear, intrinsically
immovable. A part of it, composed of
gristle,
constitutes, a septum or partition,
and part
is an open passage; for the nostril
consists
of two separate channels. The nostril
(or
nose) of the elephant is long and strong,
and the animal uses it like a hand;
for by
means of this organ it draws objects
towards
it, and takes hold of them, and introduces
its food into its mouth, whether liquid
or
dry food, and it is the only living
creature
that does so.
Furthermore, there are two jaws; the
front
part of them constitutes the chin,
and the
hinder part the cheek. All animals
move the
lower jaw, with the exception of the
river
crocodile; this creature moves the
upper
jaw only.
Next after the nose come two lips,
composed
of flesh, and facile of motion. The
mouth
lies inside the jaws and lips. Parts
of the
mouth are the roof or palate and the
pharynx.
The part that is sensible of taste
is the
tongue. The sensation has its seat
at the
tip of the tongue; if the object to
be tasted
be placed on the flat surface of the
organ,
the taste is less sensibly experienced.
The
tongue is sensitive in all other ways
wherein
flesh in general is so: that is, it
can appreciate
hardness, or warmth and cold, in any
part
of it, just as it can appreciate taste.
The
tongue is sometimes broad, sometimes
narrow,
and sometimes of medium width; the
last kind
is the best and the clearest in its
discrimination
of taste. Moreover, the tongue is sometimes
loosely hung, and sometimes fastened:
as
in the case of those who mumble and
who lisp.
The tongue consists of flesh, soft
and spongy,
and the so-called 'epiglottis' is a
part
of this organ.
That part of the mouth that splits
into two
bits is called the 'tonsils'; that
part that
splits into many bits, the 'gums'.
Both the
tonsils and the gums are composed of
flesh.
In the gums are teeth, composed of
bone.
Inside the mouth is another part, shaped
like a bunch of grapes, a pillar streaked
with veins. If this pillar gets relaxed
and
inflamed it is called 'uvula' or 'bunch
of
grapes', and it then has a tendency
to bring
about suffocation.
Part 12
The neck is the part between the face
and
the trunk. Of this the front part is
the
larynx land the back part the ur The
front
part, composed of gristle, through
which
respiration and speech is effected,
is termed
the 'windpipe'; the part that is fleshy
is
the oesophagus, inside just in front
of the
chine. The part to the back of the
neck is
the epomis, or 'shoulder-point'.
These then are the parts to be met
with before
you come to the thorax.
To the trunk there is a front part
and a
back part. Next after the neck in the
front
part is the chest, with a pair of breasts.
To each of the breasts is attached
a teat
or nipple, through which in the case
of females
the milk percolates; and the breast
is of
a spongy texture. Milk, by the way,
is found
at times in the male; but with the
male the
flesh of the breast is tough, with
the female
it is soft and porous.
Part 13
Next after the thorax and in front
comes
the 'belly', and its root the 'navel'.
Underneath
this root the bilateral part is the
'flank':
the undivided part below the navel,
the 'abdomen',
the extremity of which is the region
of the
'pubes'; above the navel the 'hypochondrium';
the cavity common to the hypochondrium
and
the flank is the gut-cavity.
Serving as a brace girdle to the hinder
parts
is the pelvis, and hence it gets its
name
(osphus), for it is symmetrical (isophues)
in appearance; of the fundament the
part
for resting on is termed the 'rump',
and
the part whereon the thigh pivots is
termed
the 'socket' (or acetabulum).
The 'womb' is a part peculiar to the
female;
and the 'penis' is peculiar to the
male.
This latter organ is external and situated
at the extremity of the trunk; it is
composed
of two separate parts: of which the
extreme
part is fleshy, does not alter in size,
and
is called the glans; and round about
it is
a skin devoid of any specific title,
which
integument if it be cut asunder never
grows
together again, any more than does
the jaw
or the eyelid. And the connexion between
the latter and the glans is called
the frenum.
The remaining part of the penis is
composed
of gristle; it is easily susceptible
of enlargement;
and it protrudes and recedes in the
reverse
directions to what is observable in
the identical
organ in cats. Underneath the penis
are two
'testicles', and the integument of
these
is a skin that is termed the 'scrotum'.
Testicles are not identical with flesh,
and
are not altogether diverse from it.
But by
and by we shall treat in an exhaustive
way
regarding all such parts.
Part 14
The privy part of the female is in
character
opposite to that of the male. In other
words,
the part under the pubes is hollow
or receding,
and not, like the male organ, protruding.
Further, there is an 'urethra' outside
the
womb; which organ serves as a passage
for
the sperm of the male, and as an outlet
for
liquid excretion to both sexes).
The part common to the neck and chest
is
the 'throat'; the 'armpit' is common
to side,
arm, and shoulder; and the 'groin'
is common
to thigh and abdomen. The part inside
the
thigh and buttocks is the 'perineum',
and
the part outside the thigh and buttocks
is
the 'hypoglutis'.
The front parts of the trunk have now
been
enumerated. The part behind the chest
is
termed the 'back'.
Part 15
Parts of the back are a pair of 'shoulderblades',
the 'back-bone', and, underneath on
a level
with the belly in the trunk, the 'loins'.
Common to the upper and lower part
of the
trunk are the 'ribs', eight on either
side,
for as to the so-called seven-ribbed
Ligyans
we have not received any trustworthy
evidence.
Man, then, has an upper and a lower
part,
a front and a back part, a right and
a left
side. Now the right and the left side
are
pretty well alike in their parts and
identical
throughout, except that the left side
is
the weaker of the two; but the back
parts
do not resemble the front ones, neither
do
the lower ones the upper: only that
these
upper and lower parts may be said to
resemble
one another thus far, that, if the
face be
plump or meagre, the abdomen is plump
or
meagre to correspond; and that the
legs correspond
to the arms, and where the upper arm
is short
the thigh is usually short also, and
where
the feet are small the hands are small
correspondingly.
Of the limbs, one set, forming a pair,
is
'arms'. To the arm belong the 'shoulder',
'upper-arm', 'elbow', 'fore-arm', and
'hand'.
To the hand belong the 'palm', and
the five
'fingers'. The part of the finger that
bends
is termed 'knuckle', the part that
is inflexible
is termed the 'phalanx'. The big finger
or
thumb is single-jointed, the other
fingers
are double jointed. The bending both
of the
arm and of the finger takes place from
without
inwards in all cases; and the arm bends
at
the elbow. The inner part of the hand
is
termed the palm', and is fleshy and
divided
by joints or lines: in the case of
long-lived
people by one or two extending right
across,
in the case of the short-lived by two,
not
so extending. The joint between hand
and
arm is termed the 'wrist'. The outside
or
back of the hand is sinewy, and has
no specific
designation.
There is another duplicate limb, the
'leg'.
Of this limb the double-knobbed part
is termed
the 'thigh-bone', the sliding part
of the
'kneecap', the double-boned part the
'leg';
the front part of this latter is termed
the
'shin', and the part behind it the
'calf',
wherein the flesh is sinewy and venous,
in
some cases drawn upwards towards the
hollow
behind the knee, as in the case of
people
with large hips, and in other cases
drawn
downwards. The lower extremity of the
shin
is the 'ankle', duplicate in either
leg.
The part of the limb that contains
a multiplicity
of bones is the 'foot'. The hinder
part of
the foot is the 'heel'; at the front
of it
the divided part consists of 'toes',
five
in number; the fleshy part underneath
is
the 'ball'; the upper part or back
of the
foot is sinewy and has no particular
appellation;
of the toe, one portion is the 'nail'
and
another the 'joint', and the nail is
in all
cases at the extremity; and toes are
without
exception single jointed. Men that
have the
inside or sole of the foot clumsy and
not
arched, that is, that walk resting
on the
entire under-surface of their feet,
are prone
to roguery. The joint common to thigh
and
shin is the 'knee'.
These, then, are the parts common to
the
male and the female sex. The relative
position
of the parts as to up and down, or
to front
and back, or to right and left, all
this
as regards externals might safely be
left
to mere ordinary perception. But for
all
that, we must treat of them for the
same
reason as the one previously brought
forward;
that is to say, we must refer to them
in
order that a due and regular sequence
may
be observed in our exposition, and
in order
that by the enumeration of these obvious
facts due attention may be subsequently
given
to those parts in men and other animals
that
are diverse in any way from one another.
In man, above all other animals, the
terms
'upper' and 'lower' are used in harmony
with
their natural positions; for in him,
upper
and lower have the same meaning as
when they
are applied to the universe as a whole.
In
like manner the terms, 'in front',
'behind',
'right' and 'left', are used in accordance
with their natural sense. But in regard
to
other animals, in some cases these
distinctions
do not exist, and in others they do
so, but
in a vague way. For instance, the head
with
all animals is up and above in respect
to
their bodies; but man alone, as has
been
said, has, in maturity, this part uppermost
in respect to the material universe.
Next after the head comes the neck,
and then
the chest and the back: the one in
front
and the other behind. Next after these
come
the belly, the loins, the sexual parts,
and
the haunches; then the thigh and shin;
and,
lastly, the feet.
The legs bend frontwards, in the direction
of actual progression, and frontwards
also
lies that part of the foot which is
the most
effective of motion, and the flexure
of that
part; but the heel lies at the back,
and
the anklebones lie laterally, earwise.
The
arms are situated to right and left,
and
bend inwards: so that the convexities
formed
by bent arms and legs are practically
face
to face with one another in the case
of man.
As for the senses and for the organs
of sensation,
the eyes, the nostrils, and the tongue,
all
alike are situated frontwards; the
sense
of hearing, and the organ of hearing,
the
ear, is situated sideways, on the same
horizontal
plane with the eyes. The eyes in man
are,
in proportion to his size, nearer to
one
another than in any other animal.
Of the senses man has the sense of
touch
more refined than any animal, and so
also,
but in less degree, the sense of taste;
in
the development of the other senses
he is
surpassed by a great number of animals.
Part 16
The parts, then, that are externally
visible
are arranged in the way above stated,
and
as a rule have their special designations,
and from use and wont are known familiarly
to all; but this is not the case with
the
inner parts. For the fact is that the
inner
parts of man are to a very great extent
unknown,
and the consequence is that we must
have
recourse to an examination of the inner
parts
of other animals whose nature in any
way
resembles that of man.
In the first place then, the brain
lies in
the front part of the head. And this
holds
alike with all animals possessed of
a brain;
and all blooded animals are possessed
thereof,
and, by the way, molluscs as well.
But, taking
size for size of animal, the largest
brain,
and the moistest, is that of man. Two
membranes
enclose it: the stronger one near the
bone
of the skull; the inner one, round
the brain
itself, is finer. The brain in all
cases
is bilateral. Behind this, right at
the back,
comes what is termed the 'cerebellum',
differing
in form from the brain as we may both
feel
and see.
The back of the head is with all animals
empty and hollow, whatever be its size
in
the different animals. For some creatures
have big heads while the face below
is small
in proportion, as is the case with
round-faced
animals; some have little heads and
long
jaws, as is the case, without exception,
among animals of the mane-and-tail
species.
The brain in all animals is bloodless,
devoid
of veins, and naturally cold to the
touch;
in the great majority of animals it
has a
small hollow in its centre. The brain-caul
around it is reticulated with veins;
and
this brain-caul is that skin-like membrane
which closely surrounds the brain.
Above
the brain is the thinnest and weakest
bone
of the head, which is termed or 'sinciput'.
From the eye there go three ducts to
the
brain: the largest and the medium-sized
to
the cerebellum, the least to the brain
itself;
and the least is the one situated nearest
to the nostril. The two largest ones,
then,
run side by side and do not meet; the
medium-sized
ones meet-and this is particularly
visible
in fishes,-for they lie nearer than
the large
ones to the brain; the smallest pair
are
the most widely separate from one another,
and do not meet.
Inside the neck is what is termed the
oesophagus
(whose other name is derived oesophagus
from
its length and narrowness), and the
windpipe.
The windpipe is situated in front of
the
oesophagus in all animals that have
a windpipe,
and all animals have one that are furnished
with lungs. The windpipe is made up
of gristle,
is sparingly supplied with blood, and
is
streaked all round with numerous minute
veins;
it is situated, in its upper part,
near the
mouth, below the aperture formed by
the nostrils
into the mouth-an aperture through
which,
when men, in drinking, inhale any of
the
liquid, this liquid finds its way out
through
the nostrils. In betwixt the two openings
comes the so-called epiglottis, an
organ
capable of being drawn over and covering
the orifice of the windpipe communicating
with the mouth; the end of the tongue
is
attached to the epiglottis. In the
other
direction the windpipe extends to the
interval
between the lungs, and hereupon bifurcates
into each of the two divisions of the
lung;
for the lung in all animals possessed
of
the organ has a tendency to be double.
In
viviparous animals, however, the duplication
is not so plainly discernible as in
other
species, and the duplication is least
discernible
in man. And in man the organ is not
split
into many parts, as is the case with
some
vivipara, neither is it smooth, but
its surface
is uneven.
In the case of the ovipara, such as
birds
and oviparous quadrupeds, the two parts
of
the organ are separated to a distance
from
one another, so that the creatures
appear
to be furnished with a pair of lungs;
and
from the windpipe, itself single, there
branch
off two separate parts extending to
each
of the two divisions of the lung. It
is attached
also to the great vein and to what
is designated
the 'aorta'. When the windpipe is charged
with air, the air passes on to the
hollow
parts of the lung. These parts have
divisions,
composed of gristle, which meet at
an acute
angle; from the divisions run passages
through
the entire lung, giving off smaller
and smaller
ramifications. The heart also is attached
to the windpipe, by connexions of fat,
gristle,
and sinew; and at the point of juncture
there
is a hollow. When the windpipe is charged
with air, the entrance of the air into
the
heart, though imperceptible in some
animals,
is perceptible enough in the larger
ones.
Such are the properties of the windpipe,
and it takes in and throws out air
only,
and takes in nothing else either dry
or liquid,
or else it causes you pain until you
shall
have coughed up whatever may have gone
down.
The oesophagus communicates at the
top with
the mouth, close to the windpipe, and
is
attached to the backbone and the windpipe
by membranous ligaments, and at last
finds
its way through the midriff into the
belly.
It is composed of flesh-like substance,
and
is elastic both lengthways and breadthways.
The stomach of man resembles that of
a dog;
for it is not much bigger than the
bowel,
but is somewhat like a bowel of more
than
usual width; then comes the bowel,
single,
convoluted, moderately wide. The lower
part
of the gut is like that of a pig; for
it
is broad, and the part from it to the
buttocks
is thick and short. The caul, or great
omentum,
is attached to the middle of the stomach,
and consists of a fatty membrane, as
is the
case with all other animals whose stomachs
are single and which have teeth in
both jaws.
The mesentery is over the bowels; this
also
is membranous and broad, and turns
to fat.
It is attached to the great vein and
the
aorta, and there run through it a number
of veins closely packed together, extending
towards the region of the bowels, beginning
above and ending below.
So much for the properties of the oesophagus,
the windpipe, and the stomach.
Part 17
The heart has three cavities, and is
situated
above the lung at the division of the
windpipe,
and is provided with a fatty and thick
membrane
where it fastens on to the great vein
and
the aorta. It lies with its tapering
portion
upon the aorta, and this portion is
similarly
situated in relation to the chest in
all
animals that have a chest. In all animals
alike, in those that have a chest and
in
those that have none, the apex of the
heart
points forwards, although this fact
might
possibly escape notice by a change
of position
under dissection. The rounded end of
the
heart is at the top. The apex is to
a great
extent fleshy and close in texture,
and in
the cavities of the heart are sinews.
As
a rule the heart is situated in the
middle
of the chest in animals that have a
chest,
and in man it is situated a little
to the
left-hand side, leaning a little way
from
the division of the breasts towards
the left
breast in the upper part of the chest.
The heart is not large, and in its
general
shape it is not elongated; in fact,
it is
somewhat round in form: only, be it
remembered,
it is sharp-pointed at the bottom.
It has
three cavities, as has been said: the
right-hand
one the largest of the three, the left-hand
one the least, and the middle one intermediate
in size. All these cavities, even the
two
small ones, are connected by passages
with
the lung, and this fact is rendered
quite
plain in one of the cavities. And below,
at the point of attachment, in the
largest
cavity there is a connexion with the
great
vein (near which the mesentery lies);
and
in the middle one there is a connexion
with
the aorta.
Canals lead from the heart into the
lung,
and branch off just as the windpipe
does,
running all over the lung parallel
with the
passages from the windpipe. The canals
from
the heart are uppermost; and there
is no
common passage, but the passages through
their having a common wall receive
the breath
and pass it on to the heart; and one
of the
passages conveys it to the right cavity,
and the other to the left.
With regard to the great vein and the
aorta
we shall, by and by, treat of them
together
in a discussion devoted to them and
to them
alone. In all animals that are furnished
with a lung, and that are both internally
and externally viviparous, the lung
is of
all organs the most richly supplied
with
blood; for the lung is throughout spongy
in texture, and along by every single
pore
in it go branches from the great vein.
Those
who imagine it to be empty are altogether
mistaken; and they are led into their
error
by their observation of lungs removed
from
animals under dissection, out of which
organs
the blood had all escaped immediately
after
death.
Of the other internal organs the heart
alone
contains blood. And the lung has blood
not
in itself but in its veins, but the
heart
has blood in itself; for in each of
its three
cavities it has blood, but the thinnest
blood
is what it has in its central cavity.
Under the lung comes the thoracic diaphragm
or midriff, attached to the ribs, the
hypochondria
and the backbone, with a thin membrane
in
the middle of it. It has veins running
through
it; and the diaphragm in the case of
man
is thicker in proportion to the size
of his
frame than in other animals.
Under the diaphragm on the right-hand
side
lies the 'liver', and on the left-hand
side
the 'spleen', alike in all animals
that are
provided with these organs in an ordinary
and not preternatural way; for, be
it observed,
in some quadrupeds these organs have
been
found in a transposed position. These
organs
are connected with the stomach by the
caul.
To outward view the spleen of man is
narrow
and long, resembling the self-same
organ
in the pig. The liver in the great
majority
of animals is not provided with a 'gall-bladder';
but the latter is present in some.
The liver
of a man is round-shaped, and resembles
the
same organ in the ox. And, by the way,
the
absence above referred to of a gall-bladder
is at times met with in the practice
of augury.
For instance, in a certain district
of the
Chalcidic settlement in Euboea the
sheep
are devoid of gall-bladders; and in
Naxos
nearly all the quadrupeds have one
so large
that foreigners when they offer sacrifice
with such victims are bewildered with
fright,
under the impression that the phenomenon
is not due to natural causes, but bodes
some
mischief to the individual offerers
of the
sacrifice.
Again, the liver is attached to the
great
vein, but it has no communication with
the
aorta; for the vein that goes off from
the
great vein goes right through the liver,
at a point where are the so-called
'portals'
of the liver. The spleen also is connected
only with the great vein, for a vein
extends
to the spleen off from it.
After these organs come the 'kidneys',
and
these are placed close to the backbone,
and
resemble in character the same organ
in kine.
In all animals that are provided with
this
organ, the right kidney is situated
higher
up than the other. It has also less
fatty
substance than the left-hand one and
is less
moist. And this phenomenon also is
observable
in all the other animals alike.
Furthermore, passages or ducts lead
into
the kidneys both from the great vein
and
from the aorta, only not into the cavity.
For, by the way, there is a cavity
in the
middle of the kidney, bigger in some
creatures
and less in others; but there is none
in
the case of the seal. This latter animal
has kidneys resembling in shape the
identical
organ in kine, but in its case the
organs
are more solid than in any other known
creature.
The ducts that lead into the kidneys
lose
themselves in the substance of the
kidneys
themselves; and the proof that they
extend
no farther rests on the fact that they
contain
no blood, nor is any clot found therein.
The kidneys, however, have, as has
been said,
a small cavity. From this cavity in
the kidney
there lead two considerable ducts or
ureters
into the bladder; and others spring
from
the aorta, strong and continuous. And
to
the middle of each of the two kidneys
is
attached a hollow sinewy vein, stretching
right along the spine through the narrows;
by and by these veins are lost in either
loin, and again become visible extending
to the flank. And these off-branchings
of
the veins terminate in the bladder.
For the
bladder lies at the extremity, and
is held
in position by the ducts stretching
from
the kidneys, along the stalk that extends
to the urethra; and pretty well all
round
it is fastened by fine sinewy membranes,
that resemble to some extent the thoracic
diaphragm. The bladder in man is, proportionately
to his size, tolerably large.
To the stalk of the bladder the private
part
is attached, the external orifices
coalescing;
but a little lower down, one of the
openings
communicates with the testicles and
the other
with the bladder. The penis is gristly
and
sinewy in its texture. With it are
connected
the testicles in male animals, and
the properties
of these organs we shall discuss in
our general
account of the said organ.
All these organs are similar in the
female;
for there is no difference in regard
to the
internal organs, except in respect
to the
womb, and with reference to the appearance
of this organ I must refer the reader
to
diagrams in my 'Anatomy'. The womb,
however,
is situated over the bowel, and the
bladder
lies over the womb. But we must treat
by
and by in our pages of the womb of
all female
animals viewed generally. For the wombs
of
all female animals are not identical,
neither
do their local dispositions coincide.
These are the organs, internal and
external,
of man, and such is their nature and
such
their local disposition
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