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Hence it appears, that certain fluids at the beginning of intoxication, find another passage to the bladder besides the long course of the arterial circulation; and as the intestinal absorbents are joined with the urinary lymphatics by frequent anastomoses, as Hewson has demonstrated; and as there is no other road, we may justly conclude, that these fluids pass into the bladder by the urinary branch of the lymphatics, which has its motions inverted during the diseased state of the animal.
It was known before his time that both arteries and veins branched out. Galen maintained, though he could not prove the fact, that the ultimate branches of the arteries and veins communicated together somehow or other, by what he called 'anastomoses', and that these 'anastomoses' existed not only in the body in general but also in the lungs.
They are only produced at a somewhat advanced stage of the development of the palet, are united to one another and to the central part by strong veins, which form transversal anastomoses at their insertion. The length of these awns is very variable, and this quality is perhaps the most striking of the whole variety.
The beginnings of these capillary vessels have frequent anastomoses into each other, in which circumstance they are resembled by the lacteals; and like the mouths or beginnings of other glands, they are a set of absorbent vessels, which drink up the blood which is brought to them by the arteries, as the chyle is drank up by the lacteals: for the circulation of the blood through the capillaries is proved to be independent of arterial impulse; since in the blush of shame, and in partial inflammations, their action is increased, without any increase of the motion of the heart.
When any one drinks a moderate quantity of vinous spirit, the whole system acts with more energy by consent with the stomach and intestines, as is seen from the glow on the skin, and the increase of strength and activity; but when a greater quantity of this inebriating material is drank, at the same time that the lacteals are excited into greater action to absorb it; it frequently happens, that the urinary branch of absorbents, which is connected with the lacteals by many anastomoses, inverts its motions, and a great quantity of pale unanimalized urine is discharged.
It originates in the smaller branches of an artery usually the temporal and may spread to the main trunk, and may even involve branches of other trunks with which the affected artery anastomoses. The condition is probably congenital in origin, though its appearance is frequently preceded by an injury. It almost invariably occurs in the scalp, and is usually met with in adolescent young adults.
In the absorbent system there are many anastomoses of the vessels, which seem of great consequence to the preservation of health. These anastomoses are discovered by dissection to be very frequent between the intestinal and urinary lymphatics, as mentioned by Mr.
J.F. Meckel, in his Experimenta de Finibus Vasorum, published at Berlin, 1772, mentions his discovery of a communication of a lymphatic vessel with the gastric branch of the vena portarum. It is possible, that when the motion of the lymphatic becomes retrograde in some diseases, that blood may obtain a passage into it, where it anastomoses with the vein, and thus be poured into the intestines.
And as drastic purges act also by inverting the motions of the lacteals; and thence the other branches of lymphatics are induced into more powerful natural action, by sympathy, and drink up the fluids from all the cells of the body; and by their anastomoses, pour them into the lacteal branches; which, by their inverted actions, return them into the intestines; and they are thus evacuated from the body: these purges also are used with success in discharging the accumulated fluid in anasarca.
Harvey had no appreciation of how the arteries and veins communicated with each other. Galen, you may remember, recognized that there were anastomoses, but Harvey preferred the idea of filtration. The "De Motu Cordis" constitutes a unique piece of work in the history of medicine. Nothing of the same type had appeared before.
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