THE FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 235 



between and into the muscle-bundles supported by the intervening 

 connective tissue ; the terminal branches reach the mucosa, where 

 they break up into capillaries, which form net-works around the 

 uterine glands and beneath the free surface. In addition to the 

 trunks accompanying the principal arteries, the veins contribute 

 numerous channels to the middle muscular coat, in which they form 

 a plexiform system of thin-walled sinus-like blood-spaces within 

 the intermuscular connective tissue. 



The lymphatics are represented within the uterine mucosa by a 

 wide-meshed net-work of canals within the deeper layers of the tunic, 

 as well as by blind, slightly club-shaped branches and the interfas- 

 cicular lymph-spaces. Within the muscular tunic lymphatic channels 

 occur among the muscle-bundles, particularly of the middle layer ; 

 these unite with the larger lymphatics lying within the subserous 

 tissue. 



The nerves supplying the uterus are derived from the inferior 

 hypogastric and the ovarian plexus, together with branches from the 

 lower sacral nerves ; they consist, therefore, of both medullated and 

 non-medullated fibres : minute ganglia have been observed in con- 

 nection with the latter. The larger trunks send many twigs to the 

 muscular tissue ; the final termination of the branches passing into 

 the mucosa is still undetermined. 



THE VAGINA. 



The walls of the vagina consist of a mucous membrane, a 

 muscular coat, and a fibrous adventitia. 



The mucous membrane is covered with a thick stratified 

 squamous epithelium, which rests upon a tunica propria rich in 

 elastic fibres and leucocytes and beset with numerous papillae ; the 

 latter, when small, do not impress the free surface, the epithelium 

 presenting an uninterrupted plane. Larger elevations, however, 

 occur as the prominent folds constituting the rugae, which include 

 within their structure not only the tissues of the mucosa but also 

 bundles of involuntary muscle and numerous large veins, these 

 latter bestowing upon the parts somewhat the character of cavernous 

 tissue. Leucocytes are plentifully scattered within the mucosa of 

 the entire vaginal tract, but in certain places, particularly in the 

 anterior wall near the orifice of the vagina, these cells are very nu- 

 merous, and give the mucosa the appearance of adenoid tissue ; 

 solitary lymph-follicles also exist. True glands are not found in 

 the vaginal mucous membrane ; the watery acid secretion bathing its 

 surface seems to be the product of the general mucosa. The hymen 

 consists of a crescentic or circular duplicature of the mucous mem- 

 brane strengthened by an intervening layer of fibrous tissue. 



