134 TOPOGRAPHICAL ANATOMY OF THE 



The female reproductive organs consist of two ovaries, each with a 

 uterine tube, the uterus, the vagina, the uro-genital sinus or vestibule, 

 and the vulva and external genitalia. Of these, the vagina, vestibule 

 and vulva will be considered with the other contents of the pelvis. 



The uterus. — Part of the uterus is contained witliiu the pelvis 

 but by far the greater part of it is abdominal in position. The organ 

 consists of a single portion, the body (corpus uteri), in the form of a 

 short tube (18-20 cm. in length), approximately in the middle line of the 

 cavity containing it, and two divergent curmia^ (cornua uteri). The 

 body of the uterus lies at the pelvic entrance, partly abdominal and 

 partly pelvic in situation, to the left of the pelvic flexure of the colon, 

 generally placed slightly oblique to the long axis of the abdomen so 

 that its cranial end, or fundus (fundus uteri), inclines towards the left. 

 The body is flattened dorso-ventrally, and consequently presents two 

 surfaces and two borders. To the latter the broad ligaments are attached. 

 The dorsal surface (facies dorsalis s. rectalis) is in contact with the 

 rectum, and possibly also with coils of the small colon ; while the 

 ventral face (facies ventralis s. vesicalis) is related to the urinary 

 bladder, and, when the bladder is empty, to parts of the intestines. 

 The caudal end of the body is connected with the vagina, is known as 

 the neck (cervix uteri), and is readily distinguishable from the rest of 

 the body on palpation by its greater solidity. When the interior of the 

 vagina is examined later, it will be observed that the neck of the uterus 

 intrudes for a distance into the vaginal cavity as the vaginal portion of 

 the uterus (portio vaginalis uteri). 



The cornua of the uterus are divergent tubes from 20 to 25 cm. 

 long, entirely abdominal in position, and mainly related to the convolu- 

 tions of the small intestine and the small colon, but also in contact with 

 the ctecum and the left colon. The left cornu generally lies to the left 

 of the commencement of the left dorsal colon. Each cornu presents a 

 convex ventral free border (margo liber), and a concave dorsal margin 

 (margo mesometricus), to which the broad ligament is attached. 



It will be noted that the uterine cornua are not closely fixed to the 

 abdominal wall, but are permitted a considerable amount of freedom as a 

 result of the width of the broad ligament. 



Suspending the uterus are two broad duplicatures of peritoneum, the 

 broad ligaments (ligamenta lata uteri), reflected from the dorsal wall of 

 the abdomen and pelvis caudal to the level of the third oi- fourth lumbar 

 vertebra. The line of attachment of the broad ligaments to the body 

 wall is from 5 to 8 cm. from the median plane in the lumbar region, 



^ Cornu [L.], a horn. 



