layer of cubical cells, which are continuous near the anterior border with the cells of the peritoneum. Deep to these is the ovarian stroma, composed of fibrous tissue, and embedded in it are numerous nests of epithelial cells, the Graafian follicles, in various stages of development. During the child-bearing period of life some of these will be nearing the ripe condition, and if one such be looked at it will be seen to contain one large cell, the ovum, surrounded by a mass of small cells forming the discus proligerus. At one point this is continuous with a layer of cells called the stratum granulosum which lines the outer wall of the follicle, but elsewhere the two layers are separated by fluid, the liquor folliculi. When follicle bursts, as it does in time, the ovum escapes on to surface of the ovary.
The Fallopian tubes receive the ova and carry them to uterus. That end of each which lies in front of the ovary is called the fimbriated extremity, and has a number of fringes (fimbriae) hanging from it; one of the largest of these is the ovarian fimbria and is attached to the upper or tubal pole of the ovary. The small opening among the fimbriae by which the tube communicates with the peritoneal cavity is known as the ostium abdominal, and from this the lumen of the tube runs from four to four and a half inches, until it opens into the cavity of the uterus by an extremely small opening. In the accompanying figure (fig. 6) the Fallopian tube and ovary are pulled out from the uterus; this, as has been explained, is not the position of the ovary in the living body, nor is it of the tube, the outer half of which lies folded on the front and inner surface of the ovary. The Fallopian tubes, like many other tubes in the body, are made chiefly of unstriped muscle, the outer layer of which is longitudinal and the inner circular; deep to this are the submucous and mucous coats, the latter being lined with ciliated epithelium (see Epithelial Tissues), and thrown into longitudinal pleats. Superficially the tube is covered by a serous coat of peritoneum. The calibre gradually contracts from the peritoneal to the uterine opening.
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| From A. F. Dixon, Cunningham's Text-book of Anatomy. |
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Fig. 6.—A. The Uterus and Broad Ligament seen from behind (the broad ligament has been spread out). |
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a, b and c the isthmus tubae, the ligament of the ovary, and the round ligament of the right side cut short. |
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B. Diagrammatic Representation of the Uterine Cavity opened up from in front. |
The uterus or womb is a pear-shaped, very thick-walled, muscular bag, lying in the pelvis between the bladder and rectum. In the non-pregnant condition it is about three inches long and two in its broadest part, which is above. The upper half or body of the uterus is somewhat triangular with its base upward, and has an anterior surface which is moderately flat, and a posterior convex. The lower half is the neck or cervix and is cylindrical; it projects into the anterior wall of the vagina, into the cavity of which it opens by the os uteri externum. This opening in a uterus which has never been pregnant is a narrow transverse slit, rarely a circular aperture, but in those uteri in which pregnancy has occurred the slit is much wider and its lips are thickened and gaping and often scarred. The interior of the body of the uterus shows a comparatively small triangular cavity (see fig. 6, B), the anterior and posterior walls of which are in contact. The base of the triangle is upward, and at each lateral angle one of the Fallopian tubes opens. The apex leads into the canal of the cervix, but between the two there is a slight constriction known as the os uteri internum. The canal of the cervix is about an inch long, and is spindle-shaped when looked at from in front; its anterior and posterior walls are in contact, and its lining mucous membrane is raised into a pattern which, from its likeness to a cypress twig, is called the arbor vitae. This arrangement is obliterated after the first pregnancy. On making a mesial vertical section of the uterus the cavity is seen as a mere slit which is bent about its middle to form an angle the opening of which is forward. A normal uterus is therefore bent forward on itself, or anteflexed. In addition to this, its long axis forms a marked angle with that of the vagina, so that the whole uterus is bent forward or anteverted. As a rule, in adults the uterus is more or less on one side of the mesial plane of the body. From each side of the uterus the peritoneum is reflected outward, as a two-layered sheet, to the side wall of the pelvis; this is the broad ligament, and between its layers lie several structures of importance. Above, there is the Fallopian tube, already described; below and in front is the round ligament; behind, the ovary projects backward, and just above this, when the broad ligament is stretched out as in fig. 6, are the epoöphoron and paroöphoron with the duct of Gärtner.
The round ligament is a cord of unstriped muscle which runs from the lateral angle of its own side of the uterus forward to the internal abdominal ring, and so through the inguinal canal to the upper part of the labium majus.
The epoöphoron or parovarium is a collection of short tubes which radiate from the upper border of the ovary when the broad ligament is pulled out as in fig. 6. It is best seen in very young children and represents the vasa efferentia in the male. Near the ovary the tubes are closed, but nearer the Fallopian tube they open into another tube which is nearly at right angles to them, and which runs toward the uterus, though in the human subject it is generally lost before reaching that organ. It is known as the duct of Gärtner, and is the homologue of the male epididymis and vas deferens. Some of the outermost tubules of the epoöphoron are sometimes distended to form hydatids. Nearer the uterus than the epoöphoron a few scattered tubules are occasionally found which are looked upon as the homologue of the organ of Giraldès in the male, and are known as the paroöphoron.
The vagina is a dilatable muscular passage, lined with mucous membrane, which leads from the uterus to the external generative organs; its direction is, from the uterus, downward and forward, and its anterior and posterior walls are in contact, so that in a horizontal section it appears as a transverse slit. As the orifice is neared the slit becomes H-shaped. Owing to the fact that the neck of the uterus enters the vagina from in front, the anterior wall of that tube is only about 2½ in., while the posterior is 3½. The mucous membrane is raised into a series of transverse folds or rugae, and between it and the muscular wall are plexuses of veins forming erectile tissue. The relation of the vagina to the peritoneum is noticed under Coelum and Serous Membranes.
The vulva or pudendum comprises all the female external generative organs, and consists of the mons Veneris, labia majora and minora, clitoris, urethral orifice, hymen, bulbs of the vestibule, and glands of Bartholin. The mons Veneris is the
