[28] These organs were discovered independently by Professor Semper and myself. Professor Semper's preliminary account appeared prior to my own which was published (with illustrations) in the Quarterly Journal of Mic. Science. Owing to my being in South America, I did not know of Professor Semper's investigations till several months after the publication of my paper.
[29] These outgrowths are at first solid in both Pristiurus, Scyllium and Torpedo, but in Torpedo attain a considerable length before a lumen appears in them.
[30] This duct is often called either Müller's duct, the oviduct, or the duct of the primitive kidneys 'Urnierengang.' None of these terms are very suitable. A justification of the name I have given it will appear from the facts given in the later parts of this paper. In my previous paper I have always called it oviduct, a name which is very inappropriate.
[31] This splitting was first of all discovered and an account of it published by Semper (Centralblatt f. Med. Wiss. 1875, No. 29). I had independently made it out for the female a few weeks before the publication of Semper's account—but have not yet made observations about the point for the male.
My own previous account of the origin of the Wolffian duct (Quart. Journ. of Micros. Science, Oct. 1874, and this edition, Paper V.), is completely false, and was due to my not having had access to a complete series of my sections when I wrote the paper.
[32] Sitzun.[TN4] der Naturfor. Gesellschaft, Leipzig, 30 April, 1875.
[33] We owe to Professor Semper the discovery of the arrangement of the seminal ducts. Centralblatt f. Med. Wiss. 1875, No. 12.
[34] This upper portion of the kidneys is called Leydig's gland by Semper. It would be better to call it the Wolffian body, for I shall attempt to shew that it is homologous with the gland so named in Sauropsida and Mammalia.
[35] Further study of my sections has shewn me that the initial independence of these organs is even more complete than might be gathered from the description in my paper (loc. cit.). I now find, as I before conjectured, that they at first correspond exactly with the muscle-plates, there being one for each muscle-plate. This can be seen in the fresh embryos, but longitudinal sections shew it in an absolutely demonstrable manner.
[36] I am unfortunately only acquainted with Dr Rosenberg's paper from an abstract.