Page:Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Vol 4.djvu/348

Rh ries ; and they often form complete rings of nerve around the trunks of the great veins.

The author then describes the nerv^es v^'hich are given off from the anterior margin of each hypogastric ganghon, some of which pass on the outside of the ureter, and others on the inside, and meet in front of the ureter in a ganghon, which he calls the middle vesical ganglion. There are other two ganglia, he states, formed on these nerves ; one between the uterus aod ureter, and the other between the ureter and vagina. These he calls the internal and external vesical ganglia. Not only is the ureter inclosed within a great ring of nervous mat- ter, which, he says, resembles the oesophageal ganglia in some of the invertebrata ; but the trunks of the uterine artery and vein are like- mse encircled by a great collar of nervous matter, between which and the hypogastric ganglion several large and some small branches pass.

The author gives the following description of the vesical gangha. The internal vesical ganglion, which usually has a flattened or long bulbous shape, is formed entirely upon the nerves which pass from the hypogastric ganglion, and run between the uterus and the ureter. It has an artery which passes through its centre. It first gives off a large branch to the ring of nerve or ganglion which surrounds the uterine blood-vessels ; it then sends branches to the anterior part of the cer^'ix uteri, and afterwards a great number of small filaments to the muscular coat of the bladder behind, where it is in contact with the uterus ; and it then sends for\vards a large branch, which termi- nates in the middle vesical ganglion. This ganglion sends off a great number of large nen'es to the bladder. Some of these accompany the arteries, and can be seen ramifj'ing with them upon the whole of the superior part of the organ, even to the fundus. Filaments of these nen^es, scarcely \isible to the naked eye, are seen in one of the preparations ramifying upon the bundles of muscular fibres, occa- sionally forming loops and inclosing them, or passing down between them to the strata of fibres below. Some of the smaller branches of the middle vesical ganglion do not accompany the arteries, but are distributed at once to the parts of the bladder around the ureter.

The external vesical ganglion is formed entirely upon the nen^es which proceed from the hypogastric ganglion, and pass on the out- side of the ureter. This is a small thin ganglion, the branches of which are sent immediately into the muscular coat of the bladder. It usually sends down a long branch to anastomose with the nerv'es issuing from one of the vaginal ganglia.

From the inner surface of each hypogastric ganglion numerous small white, soft, nerves pass to the uterus, some of which ramify upon the muscular coat about the cervix, and others spread out under the peritoneum to coalesce with the great gangha and plexuses situated on the posterior and anterior surfaces of that organ. Large branches also go off from the inner surface of the ganghon to the nerves surrounding the blood-vessels of the uterus, which they ac- company in all their ramifications throughout its muscular coat.

This paper is illustrated by two drawings, in which the hypogas-