380 GENERATION. 



" I first raised, with great care, a part of the uterus from 

 the irregular mass, and in doing this, observed regular pieces 

 of wax passing obliquely between it and the uterus, which 

 broke off, leaving part attached to that mass ; and on atten- 

 tively examining the portions towards the uterus^ they plainly 

 appeared to be a continuation of the veins passing from it to 

 this substance, which proved to be the placenta. 



" I likewise observed other vessels, about the size of a 

 crow-quill, passing in the same manner, although not so 

 obliquely ; these also broke upon separating the placenta and 

 uterus, leaving a small portion on the surface of the pla- 

 centa ; and on examination they were discovered to be con- 

 tinuations of the arteries of the uterus. My next step was to 

 trace these vessels into the substance of what appeared pla- 

 centa, which was first attempted in a vein ; but that soon lost 

 the regularity of a vessel, by terminating at once upon the 

 surface of the placenta in a very fine spongy substance ; the 

 interstices of which were filled with the yellow injected mat- 

 ter. This termination being new, I repeated the same kind 

 of examination on other veins, which always led to the same 



/ 



terminations, never entering the substance of the placenta in 

 the form of a vessel. I then examined the arteries, tracing 

 them in the same manner toward the placenta, and found 

 that, having made a twist, or close spiral turn upon them- 

 selves, they were lost on its surface. On a more attentive 

 view, I perceived that they terminated in the same way as 

 the veins ; for opposite to the mouth of the artery, the 

 spongy substance of the placenta was readily distinguished 

 with the red injection intermixed. 



" Upon cutting into the placenta I discovered, in many 

 places of its substance, yellow injection, in others red, and in 

 many others these two colours mixed. The substance of the 

 placenta, now filled with injection, had nothing of the vascu- 

 lar appearance, nor that of extravasation, but had a regularity 

 in its form which showed it to be naturally of a cellular 

 structure, fitted to be a reservoir for blood. 



