The Anatomy of Melancholy

The parts of this Region, which present themselves to your consideration and view, are such as serve to nutrition, or generation. Those of nutrition serve to the first or second concoction: as the æsophagus or gullet, which brings meat and drink into the Stomack. The Ventricle or Stomack, which is seated in the midst of that part of the belly beneath the Midriffe, the kitchin (as it were) of the first concoction, and which turns our meat into Chylus: It hath two mouthes, one above, another beneath. The upper is sometimes taken for the stomack it self; the lower and nether door (as Wecker calls it) is named Pylorus. This stomack is sustained by a large Kell or Kaull, called Omentum; which some will have the same with Peritoneum, or Rim of the belly.

From the Stomack to the very fundament, are produced the Guts, or Intestina, which serve a little to alter and distribute the Chylus, and convey away the excrements. They are divided into small and great, by reason of their site and substance, slender or thicker: the slender is Duodenum, or whole gut, which is next to the stomack, some twelve inches long, (saith Fuschius.) Jejunum or empty gut, continuate to the other, which hath many Meseraick veines annexed to it, which take part of the Chylus to the Liver from it. Ilion the third, which consists of many crinckles, which serves with the rest to receive, keep, and distribute the chylus from the stomack.

The thick guts are three, the Blinde gut, Colon, and Right gut. The blinde is a thick & short gut, having one mouth, in which the Ilion and Colon meet: it receives the excrements, and conveyes them to the Colon. This Colon hath many windings, that the excrements pass not away too fast: the Right gut is straight, and conveys the excrements to the fundament, whose lower part is bound up with certain Muscles, called Sphincteres, that the excrements may be the better contained, until such time a man be willing to go to the stool. In the midst of these guts is situated the Mesenterium or Midriffe, composed of many veins, Arteries, & much fat, serving chiefly to sustain the guts. All these parts serve the first concoction.

To the second, which is busied either in refining the good nourishment, or expelling the bad, is chiefly belonging to the liver, like in colour to congealed bloud, the shop of bloud, situate in the right Hypocondry, in figure like to an halfe Moone, Generosum membrum, Melancthon stiles it, a generous part; it serves to turne the Chylus to bloud, for the nourishment of the Body. The excrements of it are either Cholerick or Watery, which the other subordinate parts convey.

The Gall placed in the concave of the Liver, extracts Choler to it: the Spleen, Melancholy; which is situate on the left side, over against the Liver, a spungy matter, that drawes this black Choler to it by a secret vertue, and feeds upon it, conveying the rest to the bottom of the stomack, to stir up appetite, or else to the guts as an excrement. That watery matter the two Kidnies expurgate, by those emulgent veines, and Ureteres. The emulgent draw this superfluous moisture from the bloud; the two Ureteres convey it to the Bladder, which by reason of his site in the lower belly, is apt to receive it, having two parts, necke and bottom: the bottom holds the water, the necke is constringed with a muscle, which as a Porter, keeps the water from running out against our will.

Members of generation are common to both sexes, or peculiar to one; which because they are impertinent to my purpose, I do voluntarily omit.