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THOMSON 368 THORAX nected with the "Philosophical Maga- zine." He was president of the Brit- ish Association for the Advancement of Science, and of the Royal Society of Lon- don. He was made an officer of the Lsgion of Honor (1889) and a peer (1892) and received various degrees, dec- orations, etc., both at home and from foreign countries. In June, 1895, the Glasgow University celebrated the 50th anniversary of his election to the chair of natural philosophy, one feature being a cable dispatch lent around the world and back in four vninutes. He died Dec. 17, 1907. THOMSON, WILLIAM McCLURE, an American clergjonan; bom in Springfield (now Spring Dale), O., Dec. 31, 1806. In 1833 he went as missionary to Syria and Palestine, remaining till 1876. His chief work, "The Land and the Book" (2 vols. 1859-1860; 3 vols. 1880 1886), is an accepted authority on Palestine and Syria. He has also published: "The Land of Promise"; "Travels in Pales- tine" (1865). He died in Denver, Col., April 8, 1894. THOMSONITE (after R. D. Thom- son), a member of the group of Zeolites. Crystallization, orthorhombic, occurring as individual crystals, but more often in radiated groups, also compact; hardness, 5-5.5; sp. gr. 2.3-2.4; luster, vitreous to pearly; color when pure, snow-white, brit- tle; pyro-electric. Composition: Silica, 38.9; alumina, 31.6; lime, 12.9; soda, 4.8; water, 13.8 = 100. Formula, 2SiOiAL203 (% CaO -f 14 NaO) IV^ HO. Prof. James D. Dana divides as follows: 1. Ordinary: (1) in regular crystals; (2) in slender prisms, sometimes radiated; (3) radiated fibrous; (4) spherical ag- gregations of radiated fibers or crystals; (5) massive: 2. Mesole: including scoulerite: 3. Chalilite. Occurs in cavi- ties in old amygdaloidal lavas, and meta- morphic rocks. THONISEN, JEAN JOSEPH (ton'is- sen), a Belgian jurist; born in Hasselt, Belgium, Jan. 21, 1817. He was Profes- sor of Jurisprudence at the University of Louvain. Among his writings are: "Socialism and Its Promises" (1850); "Socialism in the Past" (1851); "Bel- gium in the Reign of Leopold I." (4 vols. 1855) ; "The Pretended Necessity of the Death Penalty" (1864); "The Penal Laws of the Athenian Republic" (1876). He died in Louvain, Belgium, Aug. 17, 1891. THOR, the son of Odin and Jord; in northern mythology, the highest of the M%x after Odin. He is the strongest of all the gods, and defends Asgard and Midgard against the Jotuns. His king- dom is called Thrudvangar; his palace, Bilskirnir, has 540 rooms, and is the larg- est in the world. He rides in a car driven by two he-goats amid thunder and light- ning. His mailed hands grasp the ham- mer Mjolnir, well known of the Jotuns, for many of their skulls has it crushed. When he girds on his Belt of Strength his power is doubled. His wife is called Sif, and his sons are named Modi and Magni. THORACIC DUCT, the name applied to the tubular structure in which the ab- sorbent system of vessels may be said to terminate, and into which the lacteals of the intestine ultimately pour their con- tained fluid. It thus receives (1) the products of digestion or chyle from the lacteal vessels of the intestine, and (2) the lymph or fluid, brought as the elab- orated waste-matters of the body from the tissues by the absorbent system of vessels or lymphatics. Being poured into the thoracic duct, these products, which are destined to replenish the blood, and thus renovate the tissues, are in due course poured into the circulation. The thoracic duct ol" man exists as a tubular structure attaining a length of about 18 or 20 inches. It extends from the second lumbar vertebra to the root of the neck, where it ends in the angle formed by the junction of the left internal jugular and subclavian veins, into which vessels its contents are therefore poured. At its commencement in the abdomen it ex- hibits a dilatation, termed the recep- taculum chyli, which receives the lym- phatics of the lower extremities. The thoracic duct has a flexuous course, and exhibits an irregular or contracted ap- pearance. It is provided internally with valves, preventing the backflow of its contained fluid. Occasionally it divides above into two branches; and a right thoracic duct is normally found as a short trunk attaining about an inch in length, and devoted to the reception of the lymph from the right side of the head and neck, from the right side of the chest and heart, and from other regions on that side of the body. In birds, the right thoracic duct may be equally devel- oped with tAe left. THORAX, the breast, and specially the bones inclosing it. It is somewhat conical, with convex walls. Its upper opening is contracted, and bounded by the first dorsal vertebra, the first pair of ribs, and the manubrium of the sternum. Its inferior margin slopes downward on each side to the 12th rib; its longitudinal axis is directed upward and somewhat backward; its transverse diameter at the widest part greatly exceeds the distance