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THE OVARY. 1123 
ligaments of the ovary do not hold the organ firmly fixed in any definite place, 
still the position occupied by the ovary within the pelvic cavity is fairly constant. 
The length of the ovary is usually between one and one and a half inches, and the 
thickness from side to side between a quarter and half-an-inch. 
In the ovary we recognise two poles or extremities—an wpper pole, larger and 
more rounded than the somewhat pointed lower pole. The term tubal pole (extre- 
mitas tubaria) is applied to the upper end of the ovary, as it is most intimately 
connected with the Fallopian tube; the term uterine pole (extremitas uterina) is 
used with reference to the lower extremity, since this part of the ovary is con- 
nected with the uterus by a fibrous cord, termed the hgament of the ovary. The 
flattened surfaces of the ovary are called internal (facies medialis) and external 
(facies lateralis), and the borders separating them anterior (margo mesovaricus) and 
posterior (margo liber). The posterior border is convex and free; while the 
anterior one, which is straighter and narrower, is connected by a very short peri- 
toneal fold (mesovarium) with the posterior layer of the broad ligament of the 
uterus. The vessels and nerves enter the ovary by this anterior border, which is 
therefore often termed the hilus of the ovary. 
Position and Relations of the Ovary.—When the ovary occupies its most 
usual position the long axis of the gland is vertical. Its outer or lateral surface 
External iliac artery 
External iliac vein 
=r Internal iliae artery 
Sacrum 
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ee me 
CR Be 
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| iliac 
artery 
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Suspensory 
ligament of >> 
the ovary External 
iliac 
Fallopian aa 
ed 
Ureter. 7 7- Ovary 
i i/f_ Hypogastric 
b te 
i [__ artery 
babewahle Hound ligament 
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uterus K Superior vesical 
f artery 
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internus } | V, 
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Fic. 770.—SIpDE WALL OF THE FEMALE PELVIS, showing the position of the ovary and its relation to the 
Fallopian tube. The pelvis has been cut in section parallel to, but at some distance from, the mesial 
plane. Drawn froma specimen in the Anatomical Department, Trinity College, Dublin. 
lies against the side wall of the pelvis, and its inner surface looks inwards towards 
the pelvic cavity. The peritoneum of the pelvic wall, where the ovary lies against 
it, is depressed to form a little fossa termed the fossa ovarica, within which the 
ovary is placed. The upper pole of the ovary lies below the level of the external 
iliac vessels, and its lower end is placed just above the level of the peritoneum 
covering the pelvic floor. The fossa ovarica, in which the ovary hes, extends as 
far forwards as the obliterated hypogastric artery, and backwards as far as the 
