OVARY (NORMAL ANATOMY). 



547 



a much earlier period than that at which the 

 power of procreation ceases in the other sex. 

 In a physiological sense, therefore, the 

 uterus, as well as every other part of the 

 generative apparatus, must be regarded as an 

 appendage of the ovary ; and the title " Ute- 

 rus and its Appendages'' is employed, in ac- 

 cordance with ordinary usage only, as the 

 heading of this Article, in which it is pro- 

 posed to consider the structure and func- 

 tions of the entire female generative organs 

 as they exist in Man.* 



OVARY. 

 NORMAL ANATOMY. 



(SYN. Ovarium, Testis Muliebris, Lat. ; 

 Oraja, Ital. ; Ovaire, Fr. ; Eicrstock, Germ. ; 

 Eijerstok, Dutch.) 



The ovaries (Jig. 368. b, b) constitute two 

 follicular glands appropriated to the formation 

 of the female generative element. They are 

 perfectly closed, resembling in this respect the 

 ductless glands. Each, however, is furnished 

 with its proper excretory duct, (fig. 368. c, e) 

 between which and the gland a temporary 

 connection is established, at certain intervals, 

 during that period of life over which the re- 

 productive faculty extends. 



Form. The ovary is not usually fully de- 

 veloped until some time after the establish- 

 ment of puberty. It is then of an oval form 



Fig. 369. 



Ovary of a young adult virgin, before the surface Jirts 

 become scarred by repeated discharges of ova. (Ad 

 Nat.) 

 a, distal, and b, proximal extremity; c, superior, 



and d, inferior border. In the centre is laid open a 



Graafian follicle from which an ovum had recently 



escaped by spontaneous rupture. 



(fig. 368. b, and fig. 369.), flattened on its 

 sides, and somewhat resembling the testis in 

 figure, but rarely or never, in a state of health, 

 attaining to the full size of that organ. 



The following division may be made of its 



* For the comparative anatomy, as well as for the 

 general treatment of the subject of generation, the 

 reader is referred to the articles, GENERATION, 

 ORGANS OF; GENERATION; and to those descrip- 

 tive of the different classes and orders of the animal 

 kingdom throughout this Cyclopaedia. The oc- 

 casional introduction here of illustrations from com- 

 parative anatomy and physiology is employed for 

 the purpose of elucidating those questions which 

 cannot be clearly explained by observations made 

 only upon the human subject. 



superficies : viz., into two sides, situated 

 anteriorly and posteriorly with regard to the 

 body ; two extremities, outer and inner; and 

 two borders, superior and inferior. 



Of the two sides, that which is directed 

 anteriorly (fig. 370. c) is both shorter and less 



Fig. 370. 



Vertical section of ovary. (Ad Nat.) 



The posterior surface,/, more rounded than the 

 anterior, e ; at h are numerous blood-vessels divided ; 

 gg, Graafian vesicles; d, place of entrance of vessels 

 between, the layers of the broad ligament. 



convex than the posterior, which is generally 

 rounded and gibbous (fig. 370. f). In this 

 respect the ovary resembles the uterus, whose 

 posterior surface is always more rounded 

 than the anterior; by attention to this pecu- 

 liarity the right ovary may be readily distin- 

 guished from the left after these organs have 

 been detached from the uterus. 



Of the two extremities, the outer or distal 

 (fig.369.andfig. 37-2. ) is usually rounded and 

 bulbous, whilst the inner (figs. 369. and 372. b) 

 becomes gradually attenuated until its outline 

 is merged in the proper ligament (fig. 368. ?) 

 by which the ovary is attached to 'the uterus. 

 The upper and lower borders also differ from 

 each other. The former (fig. 369. c) is con- 

 vex, and forms a segment of a circle, whose 

 diameter is continually diminishing as age 

 advances. The latter is straight or slightly 

 concave, constituting the base of the ovary, 

 or the line by which it is connected to the 

 posterior duplicature of the broad ligament 

 (figs. 369. and 370. d). 



Dimensions and Weight. The ovary of a 

 healthy adult measures from \" to 2" in 

 length, from G'" to 12"' in depth or perpen- 

 dicular diameter, and from 3"' to (>'" in 

 width or transverse diameter. 



These dimensions, which vary considerably 

 in different individuals, exhibit a much wider 

 range when the observations are extended to 

 different epochs of life. The organ is then 

 found to undergo far more remarkable changes 

 in bulk and figure than are observable in the 

 corresponding male organ. 



The following table, giving the highest, 

 lowest, and mean dimensions of twelve healthy 

 ovaries, taken indiscriminately from women in 

 various conditions during the period of fer- 

 tility, will serve to exemplify the first of these 

 variations : 



N N 2 



