General Anatomy, Applied to Physiology and Medicine, Vol. 1 (of 3)Bichat, Xavier
Science
General Anatomy, Applied to Physiology and Medicine, Vol. 1 (of 3)
Bichat, Xavier
Human anatomy; Human physiology
The parietes of the arteries contain secondary arteries destined
to their nutrition. These arteries come usually from neighbouring
branches, sometimes from the artery itself, whose capillary divisions
terminate in the texture of its parietes. The heart exhibits this
arrangement. At its exit, the aorta sends off the coronaries which
are spread upon the texture of this organ and upon the origin of this
artery itself. The bronchials furnish the parietes of the pulmonary
veins. In the arterial texture, in which it is especially necessary to
examine the little arteries, they wind at first in the cellular texture
exterior to the artery, they ramify there in a thousand ways, send some
divisions to the neighbouring organs, but furnish a great number that
penetrate the peculiar membrane, are interposed between its layers,
leave filaments there and terminate before they arrive at the internal
membrane. I have never seen, either by injections, or by opening in a
living animal an artery in which I had first stopt the course of the
blood above and below, as for example, the carotid, I have never seen,
I say, the little arteries penetrating even to this internal membrane.
To distinguish well without injections, the vessels of the arteries, it
is necessary to choose on one hand a great trunk like the aorta, and
on the other to take this trunk in a young animal that has been killed
for the purpose by asphyxia; all the little arteries then are perfectly
injected with a very black blood. Examine the arteries of the fœtus,
especially if it has died by asphyxia at birth, you will be struck with
the great abundance of blood vessels that its great arteries contain
and which are sometimes as livid as in asphyxia.
The veins accompany every where the little arteries in the parietes of
the arterial trunks, they follow nearly the same distribution. I have
not seen them become varicose in the parietes of aneurismatic arteries,
in as evident a manner, as in the tumours of many other textures of the
animal economy.
_Cellular Texture._
The arteries have around them two kinds of cellular texture; one, which
is very external, loose, fatty, full of serum, with distinct layers,
unites them to the neighbouring parts, favours their motions, is in no
way distinct from the rest of the cellular system; the other, firm,
compact, not fatty, filamentous and not lamellated, forms the first of
their coats. We have spoken in treating of the cellular system, of this
particular layer that covers the arteries, which authors commonly call
the cellular coat, which the ancients called nervous, on account of its
whiteness, and which, analogous in every respect to the sub-mucous,
sub-excretory cellular texture, &c. differs essentially from the
preceding, as it differs from that which is in the interior, around or
in the interstices of the organs.
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