CHAP. 80.—THE OMENTUM: THE SPLEEN; ANIMALS WHICH ABE
WITHOUT IT.
The belly and the intestines are covered with a caul known
as the "omentum," consisting of a fatty, thin membrane;
except in the case of those animals which are oviparous. To
this membrane is attached the spleen, which lies on the left
side, and opposite the liver: sometimes, indeed, it changes
place with the liver, but such a case is looked upon as nothing
less than a prodigy. Some persons imagine that a spleen of
extremely diminutive size exists in the oviparous animals,
as also in serpents; at all events, it is to be detected in the
tortoise, the crocodile, the lizard, and the frog; though it
is equally certain that it does not exist in the bird known as
the " ægocephalos," [Note] nor yet in those animals which are destitute of blood. The spleen sometimes offers a peculiar impe-
diment in running, for which reason the region of the spleen
is cauterized [Note] in runners who are troubled with pains there.
It is said also, that if the spleen is removed [Note] by an incision,
animals may survive. There are some persons who think
that with the spleen man loses the power of laughing, and
that excessive laughter is caused by the overgrowth of it.
There is a territory of Asia, known as Scepsis, [Note] in which it is
said that the spleen of the cattle is remarkably small, and
that from thence it is that remedies for diseases of the spleen
have been introduced.
