1490 THE UTERUS. [BOOK iv. 



cut up radially into four or five large and many small processes, 

 orfimbrice; one of the larger processes, more conspicuous than the 

 rest and directly connected with the ovary by a ligament is called 

 the " ovarian fimbria." The inner surface of each of the larger 

 fimbria3 is rendered irregular by folds of the mucous membrane, 

 continuations of the folds of the canal of the tube, which are so 

 arranged, especially in the ovarian fimbria, that the fimbria? form 

 shallow grooves converging to the opening of the canal of the tube 

 in the centre of the trumpet ; muscular fibres, disposed longitudi- 

 nally, also pass into these larger fimbriae. The epithelium on the 

 fimbrise is like that of the canal of the tube, columnar and ciliated : 

 at the edges of the fimbriaB it passes into the flat epithelioid plates 

 of the peritoneum. When examined in the living body the end 

 of the tube is seen to curl round the adjoining ovary so that the 

 fimbrise embrace that organ from below. 



925. The uterus, the body of which is covered by peritoneum 

 except at the attachment of the ligaments or peritoneal folds which 

 keep it in place, also consists of a muscular coat of plain muscular 

 fibres and a mucous coat, but both coats are much more complex 

 than in the tube. The muscular coat is more or less distinctly 

 divided into an outer thin and an inner thick and much more 

 conspicuous layer, between which there is a large development of 

 blood vessels, especially of veins, which here form large venous 

 sinuses. In the thin outer layer the fibres are disposed longitu- 

 dinally on the outside and circularly or obliquely on the inner side. 

 The thick inner layer consists of fibres which are disposed in the 

 main circularly, but still to a large extent obliquely and indeed 

 in various directions. 



The mucous coat is very thick, the thickness being due to the 

 presence of numerous generally simple glands, each having a wide 

 lumen and tortuous course. The epithelium lining the glands and 

 the surface between their mouths is a single layer of tall columnar 

 ciliated cells with intervening goblet cells, the cilia being very 

 tender, easily destroyed and overlooked. The dermis of the mucous 

 membrane is very vascular, and is characterised by the presence 

 of a large number of spindle-shaped cells, some of which at least 

 appear to be epithelioid plates lining the numerous lymph spaces 

 present in the connective tissue. Another special feature of the 

 dermis is that the line of demarcation between it and the adjoining 

 inner layer of the muscular coat is not a sharp one ; bundles of 

 muscular fibres radiate from the one into the other, so that the two 

 are irregularly interlaced together. The thick inner layer of the 

 muscular coat, distinguished from the outer thin one, has thus some 

 of the characters of a greatly hypertrophied muscularis mucosas. 



The above description applies to the body of the uterus. In the 

 cervix or neck, the muscular fibres have a more regular, less inter- 

 laced disposition, and a marked difference is observed in the mucous 

 membrane. The glands suddenly become shorter, branched, and 



