632 



UTERUS AND ITS APPENDAGES. 



sionally brought into view with difficulty. 

 They all contain minute dark granules easily 

 distinguished, and they sometimes exhibit 

 upon their surface slight longitudinal folds or 

 markings. These fibres have an average 

 length of -roW'.. and breadth of g^Vo"- 

 They are deeply imbedded in the uterine 

 substance from which they are with difficulty 

 obtained separate, but they may be commonly 

 seen projecting to the extent of about half 

 their length from the torn margin of the 

 preparation, and they are easily rendered 



Fig. 434. 



Smooth-muscular fibre of uterus. 



a, fibres united by amorphous matrix ; b, separate 

 fibre and elementary corpuscles. (Ad Nat.) 



visible in its substance by the aid of dilute 

 acetic acid. These fibres do not apparently 

 possess any distinct cell membrane. In very 

 thin sections the ends of the fibres which 

 have been transversely divided are seen as if 

 solid, and the cut fibres do not collapse, nor 

 have I ever been able to detect any appear- 

 ance of a flowing out of fluid contents, which 

 v/ould be the case if the individual fibres con- 

 sisted of a cell wall containing fluid (Jig. 

 434. ). 



2. Round and oval nucfei, or elementary 

 corpuscles. These measure g^Vs" in diame- 

 ter. They are found in many parts inter- 

 mixed with the fusiform fibres, but they are 

 most abundant towards the inner layers of 

 the muscular coat. They are apparently the 

 elementary or embryonic condition of the 

 fusiform fibre-cells just described. For al- 

 though the two extreme forms of round cor- 

 puscles and fusiform fibres are the conditions 

 under which these constituents of the mus- 

 cular coat are most numerously seen, there 

 may yet be traced a sufficient number of 

 apparently intermediate stages to justify the 

 conclusion that the one is but the embryo 

 form of the other ; the round corpuscles 

 becoming at first oval, and then being length- 

 ened out into the fusiform state (fig. 434. A). 



3. Amorphous or homogeneous connective tis- 

 sue. A considerable portion of connective 

 tissue exists in certain parts of the uterus in 

 the unformed state, constituting a transparent 

 matrix in which the fibre-cells and nuclei are 

 embedded, and by which they are so inti- 

 mately united together, as to render their 

 isolation, even with the aid of nitric acid, a 

 work of great difficulty. The fibre-cells and 

 nuclei which form the innermost laminae of 

 the muscular coat, as well as the laminae 

 themselves, appear to have scarcely any other 

 connecting medium but this, especially in 



young subjects, while in the middle and outer- 

 most laminae a large portion of fibrillated 

 tissue is added, and the amorphous substance 

 uniting the individual fibres into bundles is 

 proportionally less in quantity. 



4. Fibrillated connective tissue (white fibrous 

 tissue). This, as just stated, is found chiefly 

 among the middle and outer muscular laminae, 

 serving here the purpose of a connecting me- 

 dium between the several layers, and sup- 

 porting the blood-vessels ramifying between 

 them. The presence of this form of fibrous 

 tissue is most readily exhibited by taking a 

 thin perpendicular section from the outer 

 muscular layer, and slightly drawing the la- 

 minae asunder, after submitting the preparation 

 to the action of acetic acid. The layers and 

 bundles of muscular fibre, as shown \nfig. 437., 

 are then seen to be surrounded by, and im- 

 bedded in, a quantity of white fibrous tissue 

 which conceals the fibre-cells, and renders the 

 distinguishing of them difficult. 



The fibres of this tissue have clear and 

 sharp edges, appear to be of indefinite length, 

 are independent of each other, and are clearly 

 not mere foldings in an amorphous substance. 

 Among them, however, and especially at the 

 points where the laminae are separated, are 

 seen numerous thin flat transparent bundles, 

 marked by deep longitudinal wavy lines, to 

 which the above explanation of the cause of 

 the appearance of wavy lines in this tissue 

 which many physiologists have adopted might 

 be more safely applied. Occasionally these 

 wavy bundles exhibit an appearance of sharp 

 curling lines, such as would indicate the inter- 

 mixture of a small quantity of elastic tissue. 



5. Elastic fibrous tiasun. The elastic form 

 of fibrous tissue is also present in the uterus, 

 as just stated, though not in great quantity. 

 Besides the occasional presence of strongly 

 curled fibres there may be seen in many places 

 developed single fibres matted together, of the 

 finer kind, commonU known as nucleus fibres; 

 and also more abundantly the peculiar fusi- 

 form formative cells from which the.se arise. 

 I have frequently had the opportunity of tra- 

 cing these peculiar dark-bordered cells in pro- 

 cess of transformation into the finer elastic 

 fibres, and so far of confirming those views 

 whicli ascribe to this form of fibre a cell origin. 



These several tissues together with the 

 uterine vessels and nerves, the former being 

 in great quantity, make up the middle coat of 

 the organ. And it is to the arrangement of 

 these in laminae and bundles which are sepa- 

 rated from each other, and perforated as it 

 were in all directions by numerous vascular 

 channels, that the mottled appearance of the 

 unimpregnated uterus, as seen in sections, is 

 due. 



The foregoing constituents of the middle 

 uterine coat exist in different proportions in 

 the body and neck of the organ respectively. 

 In the body, notwithstanding the considerable 

 amount of fibrous tissue by which the several 

 component elements are connected together, 

 the muscular fibre, either in its elementary or 

 more developed condition, constitutes the 



