56 SECRETION. 



abundant during pregnancy. It is the result of the action 

 chiefly of the large, rounded glands found in this situation. 

 The mucus of the body of the uterus and of the Fallopian 

 tubes is alkaline, of a grayish color, and slightly viscid. 

 The secretions of these parts are greatly modified during 

 menstruation. These considerations, however, belong prop- 

 erly to the subject of generation, and will be taken up more 

 fully in another volume. 



Conjunctival Mucus. A small quantity of a viscid se- 

 cretion constantly covers the conjunct! val mucous membrane, 

 and is a mixture of the secretion of the membrane itself 

 with the fluid produced by the little mucous glands found 

 near the internal angle of the eye. A peculiarity of this 

 variety of mucus, mentioned by Robin, is that it becomes 

 white, like coagulated albumen, by the action of pure water. 1 



A peculiarity of the mucus from the conjunctiva, the 

 urethra of the male, and the vagina, is that they readily be- 

 come virulent when secreted in abnormal quantity. They 

 then contain a large number of leucocytes, and have a more 

 or less puriform character ; but the virulent principle is con- 

 tained in the clear liquid. 



General Function of Mucus. The smooth, viscid, and 

 adhesive character of mucus, forming, as this fluid does, a 

 coating for the mucous membranes, serves to protect these 

 parts, enables their surfaces to move freely one upon the 

 other, and modifies to a certain extent the process of absorp- 

 tion. This function is entirely independent of the function 

 of some of the mucous glands, as the follicles of Lieberkiihn, 

 which produce secretions only at particular times. 



Aside from the mechanical functions of mucus, it has 

 been shown that this fluid, in connection with the epithelial 

 covering of the mucous membranes, is capable of preventing 

 the absorption of certain principles. It is well known, for 



1 ROBIN, Lemons sur les humcurs, Paris, 1867, p. 447. 



