David Waterston

XVI.— The True Shape, Relations, and Structure of the Alimentary Viscera of the Porpoise (Phocœna communis), as displayed by the Formal Method

Introductory .—Among the toothed whales (Odontoceti) the porpoise is the best-known representative of those members of the genus Delphinus or true dolphins which present a rounded muzzle as distinguished from a snout, and consequently it has already frequently been subjected to anatomical examination of a more or less detailed character. As in the case of all the Cetacea, however, the rapidity with which decomposition affects the various tissues and organs has hitherto proved a barrier to a prolonged and systematic examination of them, while, even under the most favourable conditions, the increasing putridity of the carcase has seriously militated against the recording of accurate observations.

A Comparative Study of the Grey and White Matter of the Motor Cell Groups, and of the Spinal Accessory Nerve, in the Spinal Cord of the Porpoise (Phoccena communis).

Recent advances in our knowledge of the arrangement of the motor cells in the anterior cornua of the spinal cord of man have been made almost entirely by the study of the changes produced in these cells by the division or removal of limbs or parts of limbs in the human subject, and very little has, as yet, been done to elucidate this subject by the comparative method of investigation.