248 



THE CAT. 



[chap. VIII. 



neum is not a sliut sac but has two distinct perforations, tlie 

 mouths of the Fallopian tubes, which indirectly place its cavity 

 in connection with the external surface of the body. 



§ 24. The OVARY is the essential secreting organ of the female 

 sex, corresponding to the testis of the male. There are two such 

 bodies, one on each side, as there are two testes, but, unlike the 

 latter, the ovaries are each a completely closed sac or follicle, and, 

 though each has its excretory duct — the Fallopian tube — this duct 

 has no permanent connexion with its gland (as the vas deferens has 





^W^%^ 







Fix. lis.— Section of the Prupared Ov.vr.v of the Cat— magnified six diameters. 



Outer covering and free Tjorder of the ovary. 

 , Attac'hed border. 

 The ovarian stroma, iiresenting a fibrous and 



vasi'iilar structure. 

 External fibro-uuclear substance. 

 Blood-vessels. 

 Ovigenns in their earliest stages, lying near 



tlie surface. 

 Ovigenns which have begun to enlarge, and 



to iiass more deejily into the ovary. 

 Ovigenns, mund wiiich the Graalian follicle 



and tunica granulosa are now formed, and 



which have i>assed somewhat deeper int<» 

 the ovary, and are surrounded by lirm 

 filirous stroma. 

 S. More alvanced Graaflau follicle, with the 

 ovum imbedded in the cells of the pro- 

 ligerous disc^ 



9. The most advanced follicle, containing the 



ovum, and aiiproaching the surface. 

 0'. A fi)lli<de from which the o^Tini has acci- 

 dentally escaped. 



10. Corpus "luteuni, presenting radiated columns 



of cellular structure. 



with its testis), but only a temporary one. The ovary is of an 

 oval shape (like the testis). It lies deeply in the dorsal and lateral 

 part of the abdominal cavity, hidden by the intestines, and en- 

 veloped in a fold of peritoneum which forms its outer coat. The 

 inner end of the gland is attached to the uterus by a dense cord, 

 already mentioned as the ligament of the orar//. At the anterior 

 border of the gland is a depression called the /li/us, where the blood- 

 vessels enter, and -which is the only part not invested by the 

 peritoneum. Beneath the outer or serous coat of the ovary is its 

 second or proper covering, the tunica alburjinoa, often compared with 

 the same part of the testis. It serves to maintain the organ in 

 shape, but really is but a condensed part of what is beneath it, 

 namely, the proper tissue — the stroma, ov jxiirnclii/ma, of the ovary. 

 This substance is of a pink, or red, colour (from the number of 

 vessels it contains), and is made up of connective tissue, with nerves, 



