388 



HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY 



cavity. One would say, from a superficial study of the 

 anatomy of the parts, that there was no certainty that an 

 ovum would follow a definite course toward the exterior. 

 But such a course does appear to be followed save in rare 

 cases. Near each ovary is the expanded end of a slender 

 passage, the Fallopian tube. These two passages converge 

 upon the uterus, the hollow organ provided for the devel- 



FIG. 80. The female genitalia exposed by a mid-section. B is the 

 bladder, U the uterus, R the rectum, and O the right ovary, which is to be 

 thought of as beyond the plane of the section. The branched extremity 

 of the right Fallopian tube is resting on the ovary. 



opment of the embryo. When it is not the seat of this 

 process the uterus is a small pear-shaped sac with compara- 

 tively thick walls and a limited cavity. It is placed be- 

 tween the bladder in front and the rectum behind. Com- 

 munication between the uterus and the outside is afforded 

 by the vagina, a passage with corrugated walls which admit 

 of great distention. Through the vagina the great major- 

 ity of the unfertilized ova are assumed to make their es- 

 cape. 



The gonads of the male, the testes, originally occupy a 



