mass, which adheres to some part of the cavity of the uterus, by a kind of neck, or narrower portion." An attempt was made on the trial of Charles Angus to explain the appearance presented by the uterus of Miss Burns, upon the supposition of an hydatid having been recently ejected from it, (see vol. i, p. 254.) Water has been known to have accumulated in very considerable quantities in the cavity of the uterus,[1] in some cases to the amount of fifty, sixty, or even a hundred pints.
If a woman die from hemorrhage, or from any other cause in child-birth, the appearances that will present themselves on dissection have been thus clearly described by Professor Burns.[2] "The uterus is found like a large flattened pouch, from nine to twelve inches long; the cavity contains coagula, or a bloody fluid, and its surface is covered by the remains of the decidua. Often the marks of the attachment of the placenta are very visible. This part is of a dark colour; so that the uterus is thought to be gangrenous by those who are not aware of the circumstance. The surface being cleaned, the sound substance of the womb is seen; the vessels are extremely large and numerous; the fallopian tubes, round ligaments, and surface of the ovaria, are so vascular that they have a purple colour. The spot where the ovum escaped is more vascular than the rest of the ovarian surface. This state of the uterine appendages continues until the womb has returned to its unimpregnated state. A week after delivery, the womb is as large as two fists; at the end of a fortnight, it will be found about six inches long, generally lying obliquely to one side; the inner surface is still bloody, and covered parti-*
