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lalesl period of piv^iiiiaiicv ; a ureal iiiaiiv daliiiii sliorih afler 

 delivery, otliers auaiii of laler dale, and some sliowiii;^- llic coiidiiion 

 of tlie ulei'i in a iioM-|)iiei-|teral or iH»ii-pr(^u'n'^i'^ >^(a(e. 



l^efore siiniiniiiu' iij» Itrielly, in lliis pa|»ei-, Ihe results of \\\\ expe- 

 riiiieiils, I iniisl al once |toiiil oiil llial llie iiiN'olidioii j)roeess in llic 

 ease of Tarsius, tlii-onulionl ils developmenl, lakes its own [)e('uliar 

 course and is uidike any of the olliei' forms of mammals thai have 

 had the uterus carefully examined up to now. 



As far as we know up to the present, we can dixidc the mam- 

 malia \\ith so-called full-placenta, (all classitied ujulei' the heading 

 of deciduata in the old-fashioned terminology), into three groups 

 according to the process of inxolidion. In the s])ecics of the first 

 group, to which man and the moidvcys helong, the placenta is spi-ead out 

 llatly on the inside of the uterus while in the mucous meud)rajie, 

 w Inch has turned into decidua xera, the epithelium is eiitirely ahseiit. 



In the second group the [)lacenta is also s|>read out over the 

 entire inside of the uterus, hut in addition to this the wond» is 

 eovered throughout with uterus epithelium. Such uteri are found 

 in carni\'ores. Jn the I'odeids we often meet with the third 

 form; here, towards the q\u\ of gestation, not only is the womb 

 covered with cell-tissue, but this ej)ithelium also rujis from the 

 fimbriae right nnderneath the placenta, undei-mining it till it is 

 tinally oidy adhering to the walls of the uterus by a slender coi'tl, 

 carrvijig the vessels. 



It is exident that, — taken as a whole class, — the uteri of the 

 3"' grou[) will resume relatively (pu(d<ly their non-puei-peral 

 aj)i)earance, while those of the lirst-named ha\'e to go through a 

 complicated |)rocess of involution. 



We may add at once that Tarsius belongs to the thii-d groiiji. 

 The lumen of the uterus gravidus just before parturition was found 

 to be entirely coxered with epithelium which i-aii undei-iu'ath the 

 run of the placenta towards the centi'e of it, up to the connecting 

 tissue-string, carrying the x'essels of the placenta. 



As already described by IIihrkcut in his excellent woi'k on the 

 placenta of Tarsius, we lind in this placenta-coi'd ('(uiglomci'ations 

 of ut(U-us-glands, the cell-tissue of which present every |)ossible 

 phase of iin'olutiou, while others are coxered xvith well-pi-esei'ved 

 cells. These I'emaius of glands in the [)lacenta play a [>rominent 

 part in the puerperal involution. 



In two of the |»uer[>ei'al uteri I lind the placenta still existent : 

 1 think it |»ossible thai liei-e it is so fai' a (pieslion of physiological 

 and not of pathological circumstances, as perhaps the placenta, 



