The rest of its internal
organs are identical with those of the saurians, except that, owing to
the narrowness and length of the animal, the viscera are
correspondingly narrow and elongated, so that they are apt to escape
recognition from the similarities in shape. Thus, the windpipe of
the creature is exceptionally long, and the oesophagus is longer
still, and the windpipe commences so close to the mouth that the
tongue appears to be underneath it; and the windpipe seems to
project over the tongue, owing to the fact that the tongue draws
back into a sheath and does not remain in its place as in other
animals. The tongue, moreover, is thin and long and black, and can
be protruded to a great distance. And both serpents and saurians
have this altogether exceptional property in the tongue, that it is
forked at the outer extremity, and this property is the more marked in
the serpent, for the tips of his tongue are as thin as hairs. The
seal, also, by the way, has a split tongue.
The stomach of the serpent is like a more spacious gut,
resembling the stomach of the dog; then comes the gut, long, narrow,
and single to the end. The heart is situated close to the pharynx,
small and kidney-shaped; and for this reason the organ might in some
cases appear not to have the pointed end turned towards the breast.
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