Part of a Letter from Mr Samuel Brady, to Dr William Cockburn, F. R. S. Giving an Account of a Puppy in the Womb That Receiv'd no Nourishment by the Mouth

IV. Part of a Letter from Mr Samuel Brady, to Dr William Cockburn, F.R.S. giving an Account of a Puppy in the Womb that receiv'd no Nourishment by the Mouth. In the Conversation we had about the Nourishment of the Fetus in the Womb, wherein we seemed to agree it was perform'd by the Umbilical Vessels only, without the assistance of the Mouth, I mention'd a Puppy at its full growth, which had never receiv'd any Nourishment this latter way. It was whelp'd November 1704. had no appearance of a Mouth at all, liv'd some time after it was parted from its Dam; pulling the Skin off its Head, it had not the least passage through it: The Head was one solid Bone, without Sutures, somewhat Round, as a Mans Skull, with a little prominence in the fore-part, resembling the Os Nas of a Man, but without any passage: It had no place for Eyes, nor Meatus for Ears, only the Outward Resemblance of one on each side, unpenetrated and plac'd lower than naturally. No Jaw-bone, nor Conveyance to the top of the Larynx and Pharynx, but thence downward natural. I send you its Skin, stuff'd carelessly for my own private satisfaction; for which you may see it was only design'd, by the little care taken in its preservation from the Mice, and the loss of the Bones: However, enough of it remains to mew that it receiv'd no Nourishment by the Mouth.