The adult organisation of Paragordius varius. 445 
and are immediately invested by large-celled parenchym (L. Par Fig. 61, 
Pl. 40), i. e. do not lie within a lateral body cavity. They are ap- 
parently strictly bilaterally arranged and paired, as may be deter- 
mined by cieared specimens in oil (Fig. 62), and by counting their 
openings into the uteri, though such openings are not always strictly 
symmetrical. In the region of their most posterior occurrence in an 
ovipositing female, in an extent of the trunk of 5.4 mm, 101 were 
found on the right, and 100—101 on the left. In the most anterior 
trunk region they are somewhat less numerous, here along an extent 
of 6 mm only about 90—100 pairs being found. From these counts 
made upon a female of 250 mm total length, the total number of 
pairs of ovaries would be between 3000 and 4000, probably nearer 
the latter number. 
Though thus segmentally arranged, and regularly paired, their 
arrangement cannot be regarded as indicating a metamerism of the 
body, since it is highly improbable that any animal consists of nearly 
4000 metameres. 
The uteri. These are a pair of long tubes (Ut Figs. 61, 63, 
64, Pl. 40; Figs. 65—68, Pl. 41) lying in the dorsal portions of the 
mesenteries (Mes); they are not segmented. Before the ova have 
entered them from the ovaries, the lumen in each is simply a nearly 
obliterated vertical split (Ut Fig. 66); and their anterior ends (Fig. 61) 
being imbedded on all sides by large-celled parenchym (L. Par) are 
at all times very narrow, so that the ova in transversing these portions 
become greatly flattened. Each has a lining continuous along its 
whole extent in the form of a flattened epithelium, exactly similar to 
that which lines the ovaries, and which may be called the germinal 
epithelium; it is thinnest most anteriorly (Fig. 61), more posteriorly 
becoming gradually thicker. Its finer structure is shown at G. Epi 
Figs. 42, 45, Pl. 39. At regular intervals openings in the lateral 
wall of each uterus (Ut Fig. 64, Pl. 40; Figs. 65, 66, PI. 41) connect 
_ with the cavities of the contiguous ovaries (Ov); or in other words, 
each uterus wall shows segmentally arranged diverticula which are 
the ovaries. The lumen of each uterus is largest when it is filled 
with ova, and the ova in it are much more closely pressed together 
than when they were in the ovaries (Fig. 64). The mechanism of the 
discharge of the ova into the uteri, is probably the direct contraction 
of the walls of the ovaries. 
Distinction of ovaries and uteri. In the preceding de- 
scription I have used “ovary” in the place of VEJDOVSKY’s term 
