266 GENEKATION. 



"We must know precisely how the ovum is developed in the 

 ovary and how it is discharged ; how, after its discharge, it 

 is received by the oviduct and carried to the uterus ; if fecun- 

 dation do not take place, there is nothing more to study, as 

 the ovum is lost; but, as the fecundated ovurn must form 

 certain attachments within the uterus, we must be acquainted 

 with the anatomy of this organ, before we can comprehend 

 its development. Again, we have to study the phenomena 

 which attend the discharge of ova, and the changes which 

 take place in the ovaries, anterior to, during, and subsequent 

 to ovulation. It will not be essential for us to study very 

 closely the anatomy of the external parts, as these are only 

 concerned in sexual intercourse and in parturition; which 

 latter, though a purely physiological process, forms the great- 

 est part of the science of obstetrics, is considered elaborately 

 in treatises on this subject, and is not usually treated of, to 

 any great extent, in physiological works. 



The female organs of generation are divided anatomically 

 into internal and external. The external organs are the vulva, 

 and adjacent parts, and the vagina ; the internal organs are 

 the uterus, Fallopian tubes, and ovaries. When we come to 

 study the functions of the internal parts, we shall see that 

 the ovaries are the true female organs, in which, and in 

 which alone, the female element can be produced. The Fal- 

 lopian tubes and the uterus are accessory in their functions, 

 the female element, the ovum, passing through the Fallopian 

 tubes to the uterus, where it forms the attachments to the 

 body of the mother which are essential to its nourishment 

 and full development after fecundation. 



Before we proceed to study the structure of any of the 

 female organs, it is important to have a clear idea of the gen- 

 eral arrangement and the relations of these parts ; for, with- 

 out this, we shall be constantly in the dark as to the bearing 

 of certain important anatomical points that have been brought 

 forward within the last few years. 



The vagina has a direction, slightly curved anteriorly, 



