Anatomy, physiology, and pathology of the supra-renal capsules / by J. Thompson Darby ... ; presented as a thesis for graduation at the University of Pennsylvania ... April 19, 1858.

  • Darby, John T. (John Thomson), 1836-1879.
Date:
1859
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Anatomy, physiology, and pathology of the supra-renal capsules / by J. Thompson Darby ... ; presented as a thesis for graduation at the University of Pennsylvania ... April 19, 1858. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    merit, and has found in the pike several capsules surrounding the kidney. In man, the capsules are two triangular bodies, fitting on the superior portion of the kidneys, and resembling a cocked hat. Both look inwards towards the spinal column ; the right, opposite the middle of the tenth dorsal vertebra, in contact with the vena cava ; the left, opposite the cartilage, between the ninth and tenth dorsal vertebras, and touching the aorta. The right has on its anterior surface the liver, its posterior surface the diaphragm ; the left has on its anterior surface the pancreas and spleen, its posterior surface is in contact with the diaphragm. Their inner borders are in relation to the splanchnic nerve, and semilunar ganglia. The inferior border is convex, thin, looking inwards and backwards. The base rests upon the kidney, on its supei'ior. inner part is con- cave, having a groove for the passage of vessels. These bo- dies are surrounded with fat, and covered by a fibrous invest- ment, which adheres closely to the proper substance of the organ, and entering, forms furrows on the anterior and supe- rior surface. It is united to the kidney by loose connective tissue. In the interior of the organ is found a space, in shape resembling the organ, filled with a black, dirty red, pultaceous mass, the result of cadaverous decomposition or degeneration from disease. The capsule on the right kidney measures from an inch to an inch and a half in length ; in height, from three-fourths to an inch, and in thickness from two to three lines. The left capsule measures in length from an inch and a fourth to an inch and three-fourths ; in height from half an inch to three-fourths, and in thickness from three to four lines. I found the weight in several, was from one drachm to two drachms and a half, varying with the age. The capsule is composed of two structures, a cortical and a medullary. The cortical is easily separable from the medullary, and presents two portions, an external yellowish red, and an internal brown border. It is reSdily torn, and to the eye appears striated. The microscope has revealed this striation to consist of elon- gated cells, one above the other, with longitudinal, transverse and oblique stroma of connective tissue, thus forming com-