52 



FEMALE UROGENITAL ORGANS OF PERAMELES, 



expansions of the vaginae which form a lai^ge diverticulum situated 

 between the bladder and the uteri, like the vaginal caeca of Pera- 

 meles, and no doubt identical in function with the latter. 



In Macropus tnajor, Stirling (10) has shown that the lateral 

 vaginal canals and the median vaginal canal act the part of 

 seminal receptacles, and I also find that in Trichosurus and 

 Phascolarctus the median vagina at the breeding season becomes 

 much enlarged and is utilised for a similar purpose. In other 

 cases where as in Perameles the median vaginal apparatus remains 

 of small size, receptacula have been developed as forward out- 

 bulgings of the lateral vaginal canals. In Peragale lagotis vaginal 

 cseca similar to those of Perameles occur, only they remain separate 

 from each other, and such. Prof. W. B. Spencer informs me {in 

 litt.), also occur in Cheer oj)us castanotis. 



Median Vaginal Cul-de-sacs and Associated Parts. 



Here I propose to describe the condition and general relations 



of the median vagina in a 

 young virgin female of Pera- 

 meles, reserving the details of 

 the changes consequent on par- 

 turition for a later section. 



The accompanying text-fig. 1 

 is a diagrammatic lateral view 

 of the anterior portion of the 

 urogenital organs. The lines 

 indicate the aj)proximate posi- 

 tions of the sections through 

 the genital organs of a virgin 

 3-8, Plates 



a ircuj 



in 



figs. 



rri.V.C. 



shown 

 ii.-iv. 



From the diagram it will be 

 seen that the uterine neck con- 

 tinues back to open into a 



■l.i'on.c. 



Fig. 1. 



cul-de-sac {m.v.c). From the anterior end of this thei-e arises 

 ventrally a fine canal which passes forwards in the connective 



short terminal median vaginal 



