Cattle 1853 - Lewis Family Farm

THE ARTERIES OF THE NECK. 217
internal enters the skull and is tbe main source whence the brain
derives its arterial blood. Smaller streams are sent to the brain from
the vertebral arteries, which, defended andpartly concealed in canals
formed for them in the bonespi the neck, after having fed the neighboring'
parts, likewise expend -the remainder on the brain, entering
by the great foramen, through which the spinal chord escapes. A
third and smaller branch, leaving the main trunk high up in the neck-,
sends a small vessel to the brain, under the . title of the occipital
artery.
We can conceive of very few, if
«
any,' cases in which it would be
either necessary or advisable to bleed from an artery in the ox. The
temporal is, in a manner, out of reach ; and the artery of the forehead
is so defended by its bony canal, as not to be easily got at
besides which, in bleeding from an artery, there will always be
extreme difficulty 8'ither in getting the quantity of blood wanted, on
account of the contraction of the, vessel, or of stopping
rhage, if the blood flow freely.
the haemor-
There is one circumstance which will strike every one, and that is
—except the larger vessels immediately from the heart—the smallness
of the arteries, and the largeness of the veins. What enormous vessels
are the jugulars and milk veins ! And what a torrent of blood
will 'pour from them if a large incision be made! We shall bear
this in mind as we pass on.
The submaxillary artery has been already described (fig. 27, pp.
202 and 205,) pursuing its course anteriorily, to bury itself beneath
the angle of the lower jaw, whence it speedily emerges again, and
close to the angle of the jaw. This should be remembered when
we are feeling for the pulse, tt occurs under some circumstances of
disease, that it is difficult, or impossible, to ascertain the pulse at the
jaw, and should, therefore, teach us to go at once to the side when
there is any difficulty about the jaw.
The temporal artery is much larger, because it has a great surface
to ramify upon and to feed : the figure will point out the spot at
which the pulse will usually be most conveniently felt.
The anterior auricular artery is also large. -It supplies not only the
anterior muscles of the ear, but also the temporal muscle, deeply
lodged in the temporal fossa. The pulse may be very readily felt by
means of it, and perhaps more readily than from the temporal.
The superciliary artery, escaping from the foramen above the orbit
of the eye, is a considerable one. It forms two branches, of which
one goes to the root of the horn, and contributes to the vascularity
and nutriment of that part. The other descends downward, on tho
side of the face.
The occipital artery is small, the brain of the ox, which a branch,
of this artery supplies, being small compared to his size.
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