UTERUS (D 



the latter is the more considerable, for the 

 body has not yet acquired breadth ; while the 

 cervix, forming a tube of nearly equal calibre 

 with the body, possesses almost twice its 

 length. This greater length of the cervix, as 

 compared with the body of the uterus, is one 

 of the most striking characteristics of fetal 

 life (fig. 441.), one also which continues to be 

 observed for many years after birth. 



b. The uterus from the time of birth to pu- 



EVELOPMENT). 643 



bcrti/. From the time of birth until the 

 approach of puberty, the internal generative 

 organs undergo but little change. Gradually, 

 but slowly, increasing in size, they still retain 

 the principal characteristics of the foetal pe- 

 riod. The uterus consists still chiefly of cer- 

 vix, the body being that part which is last 

 developed. Thus in a child of three years 

 (fig. 442.), in whom the entire length of the 

 uterus is 15'", the cervix measures 1 V", and 



Fig. 442. 



Uterus and appendages of an infant. 



a, cavity of the body laid open ; b, of the cervix ; c, anterior lip of the cervix ; d, left ovary opened ; 

 c, Fallopian tube ; /, right ovary ; g, internal os uteri, marking the division between the body and cervix. 

 (Ad Nat.) 



the body only 4 /;/ . These dimensions do not 

 materially differ from those of the uterus in 

 the first year of life, nor do they much exceed 

 those of the same organ at birth. 



But as puberty approaches, the relative 

 proportions of the cervix and body of the 

 uterus are found to have changed, and the 

 latter now preponderates over the former. 

 For while the body now equals the cervix 

 in length, the breadth of the former much 

 exceeds that of the latter. The walls of 

 the upper chamber now become thicker 

 from the more rapid development of the 

 uterine muscular fibre, which is their chief 

 constituent. This not only increases the ex- 

 ternal dimensions of the organ, but, at the 

 same time, causes the parietes to become in- 

 curved, and so to encroach upon the cavity 

 contained by them, which, up to this period, 

 preserves the form of a nearly equilateral 

 triangle (fig. 442.), but now gradually acquires 

 the shape already described as characteristic 

 of the cavity of the adult uterus (fig. 431.). 



The folds or plica; also (fig. 442.), which, 

 in infantile life, are distinguishable upon the 

 anterior and posterior walls of the cavity in 

 the uterine bodv, resembling somewhat those 

 in the cervical canal, gradually disappear ; their 

 former situation being now indicated by only 

 a slight groove or raphe in the median line, 



and one or two gentle elevations diverging 

 towards either Fallopian tube. These traces 

 in the cavity of the body of its original con- 

 struction out of two symmetrical halves, be- 

 come generally lost after the uterus has been 

 once impregnated, and indeed cannot always 

 be distinctly seen in the nulliparous organ. 

 One peculiarity in the form of the infantine 

 uterus may be mentioned here, although it 

 will be subsequently more particularly noticed. 

 This consists in a curvature or inclination 

 forwards of the upper part of the uterine 

 body (fig. 467.). It is constantly more or less 

 seen in infancy and childhood, and is usually 

 partly retained in the virgin adult, but be- 

 comes lost after one or two pregnancies. In 

 an excessive degree, it constitutes the con- 

 dition hereafter described as antiflexion of the 

 uterus. 



From the time of birth to puberty, the com- 

 ponent elements of the uterus remain nearly 

 unchanged. They consist of granules and cells 

 in various stages of development, from the 

 round granular corpuscle to the elongated and 

 ultimately fusiform fibre-cell ; the two latter 

 being often drawn out, at their extremities, into 

 long filiform threads. These are all imbedded 

 in a semitransparent formless matrix, and dif- 

 fer in no respect from the corresponding 

 tissues in the adult, except that they are ge- 

 T T 2 



