The Anatomical History of the Leech. By Sieur Francois Poupart. Taken from the Journal des Savans, of the 22th of July, 1697

cally, i.e. the Cover was of the same Piece with the Matrix. 17. Mr. Carlan, Sworn Surgeon; having observ'd in a Man a Swelling as big as a Pullets Egg, upon the Place call'd Fontanella, and cover'd with Hair like the rest of the Head, apply'd to it Emplastrum de Betonica, by order of M. Dufaur Professor of Surgery, and the Swelling disappear'd. III. The Anatomical History of the Leech. By Sieur Francois Poûpart. Taken from the Journal des Savans, of the 22th of July, 1697. ITS Upper Lip is stretched out into a Point, and falls upon the Under, which is Round like a Cresent, and shorter. Its Throat on the Inside is covered with a great many White Muscles, about Five or Six Lines long, as big as a small Thread, and lying parallel one to another, along its Body. When the Leech applies its Mouth to the Flesh of any Animal, all these Muscles contracting themselves, she sucks it with so great Violence and Greediness, that she makes it enter in Form of a little Pap into its Throat. So that all the Effect of Suction terminating in a very little Space, of necessity the Flesh must break in that Place: For you must not believe that the Leech pierces it as with a Needle, as many others write. There is seen at the End of its Tail, a little flat thing, exactly round the Border of which, is elevated far above the Tail, and all round it, which it applies so uni- uniformly upon the Bodies to which it fastens itself, that it touches them in all their Parts; and then drawing up a little the Middle of this Flat Part, without taking off the Edges, she makes of it, as it were, a little Balm which leaves a Cavity in its Middle. This excellent Glue fastens so strongly the Tail of the Leech, that 'tis a hard matter to pull it away, without making some Rent, especially if you draw it perpendicularly from the Surface on which the Animal is fastned. But that which surprises at the first, is that fastens it more strongly to the Bodies most smooth, such as are fine Venice Glasses, upon which Flies have some trouble to creep, than on the more rough Surfaces, because it touches the Polished Bodies in a greater Number of Parts. Add to this a little Oily Glue which it spreads about, and with which it fills exactly the Inequalities of the Surfaces. The Leech has always recourse to this little Instrument for fastning its Body, to the End it may not be suspended in the Air, while it draws its Nourishment by Suction, or else that it be not carried away with the Current of the Water, while it carries its Head here and there for seeking its Nourishment. Its Gut goes in a Straight Line, from the Mouth to the Anus, as big as a Goose's Quill, all along, set with a great Number of little Valves, some of which make a perfect Circle with a Hole in the Middle, and others a Half Moon, some are shap't Spiral ways, and there is a great one of this Sort near the Tail, Fashion'd like a Heart, which leaves only a very little Hole, near which is found much Yellow Fat, which fills all the Cavity of the Intestine to have an Inch. Two little Intestines or Appendixes, each half an Inch long, and of the Bigness of the Feather of a little Bird's Wing, pierce the great Gut in which they are open at one end, and shut at the other; all this Structure make makes it evident why the Intestine, which makes no Revolutions, and yet reserves ordinarily but liquid Aliments, does yet retain them to a perfect Concoction and retains them so long. A Nerf the Bigness of a Horse Hair, all Black, hard to break, having Knots at a Distance, one from the other, beginning at the Mouth of the Animal, passes over the Parts that serve for Generation in the Male, 'tis fastned in a straight Line all along the Gut above, ends at the little Circle in the end of the Tail, and in the Way sends out Branches to the Right and Left Side, which go from every Knot. 'Tis very probable that by this Canal, the Animal Spirits run abundantly, which gives so great Briskness to this Reptile, which make it ply in so many Fashions, Swim so swiftly, so properly, and Suck with such Greediness. All we have said hitherto, is nothing in Comparison of what we have to say further of its Beauties. The Leech is Hermaphrodite; the Parts of the Male destined to Generation, are plac'd where the Neck ought to be. The Yard, which is about Two Inches long, is White, Round, Hollow, and Grisly; a part of the Yard which is always in the Body, is a Sheath about Fifteen Parts of an Inch, long, as big as a little Birds Quill, covered with a fine Membrane, which fastens it strongly to the Belly, round about a little Hole given the Leech for putting out and in his Yard when he pleases, and not for Breathing, as the Ancients said. The other Parts of the Yard which comes out Nine or Ten Parts of an Inch, is the Bigness of a Sowing Thred, and the End of it for the Length of Two Parts of an Inch, is bigger than the rest. All the Yard is hollow, and has in its Cavity a White Muscle as big as a Hair, fastned only to the Root and Head, all the rest being at Liberty. 'Tis with this Muscle that the Animal draws the Yard into its Sheath, which any one may try by cutting it at the Root, to draw out this Muscle with his Nails. On every side of the Root of the Yard, is a little White Webb, Flat, Oval, about Two or Three Lines long, resembling Small Guts twisted about, with a Cartilaginous Body, as big as a double Thred, and Two Lines long, fastens to the Root of the Yard, in which it's probable it carries the Prolifick Matter. A little above the Root of the Yard between these Two Webs there is a little gristly Globule, Two Lines Long, White, Hard, Hollow, Round, Oval, Sharp, inwardly cover'd with a Membrane Wrinkled and full of a Milky Liquor. There is at the Head of this Globule a small Web, like to an Epidimis, whose little Canal of the same Piece with it, creeps over the Globul and is fastned at the point of it, and above the Epididimis are Two Glands exactly Round, each as big as a Grain of Millet. I am much inclin'd to think this little Globul to be a Testicle, considering its wonderful Furniture. All along every side of the Intestine is a White Canal, or Ovarium, of the Bigness of a Small twisted Thred, and folded in a Thousand Manners, to which are fastned with a Tail, as it were the Grain of a Raisin to their Grape, many little Globules exactly Round, as big as a little Pea, full of a Milky Juice, and some little White Eggs, gristly perfectly round, as big as a Grain of Millet, hard, which are hardly broken, making a Noise, and full of a White Matter. There is in the Intestine towards the End, a great Valve fashioned like a Heart, with Two little Bags, where begin 1000 small Channels made of fine yellow Fat, which fill the Cavity of the Intestine for half an Inch. It's probable that these Passages of Fat receive the Prolifick Liquor, to conduct into the Ovarium, by ways unknown to me, choosing rather to publish my Weakness, than the least Error in the World. IV. Of a Venomous Scratch with the Tooth of a Porpos, its Symptoms and Cure. By Dr. Martin Lister, Fellow of the College of Physicians and R. S. Forte ex Dissectione Delphini, ante dies Tres minimam mortui, ad modum leviter digitum vulneravi ab interna parte, at citra Sanguinem, scilicet simplici dentis rasurâ. Nihil autem mali inde sensi ad quantum usque diem: quo tempore cum quodam livore digitus paululum intumuit ad Articulum: malum indies serpebat, adeo ut intra alios quatuor Dies digitos duos infecisset; tertiusq; tandem digitus male se habait. Plurima ex consilio Chirurgorum adhibui, at parum profuerunt; jam manus correpta est, dolorque carpum invasit, ex hoc autem fomento primum stetit. [Rx aq. spermatis ranarum 3vi, Boli Armen. 3is. f. Vitrioli albi 3iii. m.] calide bis quotidie admotum est. Item interdum alio modo [Rx Vitrioli albi combusti, Boli Armeniac an. 3iii. Camph. 3i. aq. communis tb viii. m. f. Collyrium.] Deinde Nutrito imposto, & superinjetto Emplastro ex bolo & Diapalma, convulsi ex hoc injustato ac improviso malo. Praeter livorem autem, qui satis venenum indicabat, molestus ac odiosus quidam pruritus, an igniculus dicam, me dies noctesq; vehementer angebat: cuticulam partium correptarum ex toto perdidit: digitis autem ad vires suas non nisi post aliquot Menses restituti sunt. V. Part