562 ANATOMY IN A NUTSHELL. 



few weeks. The true corpus luteum continues to grow for two or three months 

 and may be as large as one-third of the entire ovar}\ It continues till toward 

 the end of gestation and then shrinks to a small white scar which may not en- 

 birely disappear until a month after labor. While this is the general rule it 

 does not always hold good for bodies which are identical with the true cor- 

 i'oi;\ i.itka have been found in the virgin ovaries. 



The ovary in its descent may pass into the inguinal canal and out the ex- 

 ternal abdominal ring and become an external organ like the testicle. This 

 is a very rare occurrance. At the third month of intra-uterine life the ovaries 

 are situated in the lumbar region in front of the Psoas magnus near the kidney 

 and by the ninth month they have descended to the brim of the pelvis. This 

 is caused by the lumbar region growing away from the ovary. 



Nerve Supply. — The nerves are from the ovarian plexus of the sympa- 

 thetic and branches of the third and fourth sacral nerves. 



Blood Supply. — Ovarian from the abdominal aorta which corresponds to 

 the spermatic in the male. The blood from the left ovary passes through its 

 veins into the left renal vein, while the blood from the right ovary passes into 

 the inferior vena cava. 



Lymphatics from the ovary pass into the lumbar nodes. 



LESSON CXCV. 



The external female organs of generation are known by the term vulva or 

 pudendum and includes (1) the mons veneris, (2) the labia majora, (3) labia 

 minora, (4) clitoris, (5) the orifice of the vagina. 



The mons veneris (mount of Venus) is a round prominence at the symphysis 

 pubes in the female, which is cushioned with fat and covered with hair. 



The labia majora are hairy folds of the skin on either side of the slit of the 

 vulva extending from the mons veneris to the perineum. Where they meei 

 anteriorly they form the anterior commissure, and where they meet below they 

 form the posterior commissure (fourchette) which is about an inch in front of 

 the anus at the anterior boundary of the perineum. The fossa navicularis is 

 between the posterior commissure and the hymen. The nerve supply of the 

 labia majora is the superficial perineal from the pudic and the inferior pudendal 

 from the small sciatic. 



The labia minora (nymphae) are folds of mucous membrane within the labia 

 majora. They extend from the prepuce of the clitoris to the inner surface 

 of the labia majora. They are not well developed until the age of puberty and 

 air largesl during pregnancy. The vestibule is the space between these lips 

 and the orifice of the vagina. 



The clitoris, which i> situated at the anterior angle of the vulva is a small 

 elongated erectile body of the female of most mammals. These mammals 

 include the human species and numerous birds, as the ostrich. It differs from 

 the penis of the male in that it is smaller and as a rule not perforated by a ure- 

 thra, although it is in some animals, as lemurs. In the human female it is 

 usually concealed in the normal state of the parts, but in the spider-monkey 



