674 THE PHYSIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION 



substitution of a hard surface containing cicatricial tissue ; and 

 (c) contraction of the entrance to the vagina. 



(5) Senile changes in the vulva : (a) great contraction and 

 loss of elasticity, (b) destruction of glands and follicles, and (c) 

 cutaneous surface becoming dry and scaly. 



(6) Senile changes in the mammary glands : (a) loss of 



FIG. 149. Section through uterine mucous membrane of woman of 

 sixty. (From Sellheim.) gl. glands. 



glandular elements and cessation of function ; and (b) shrinkage 

 due to atrophic loss, which, however, is sometimes compensated 

 for by a deposition of fat. 1 



Other changes, depending probably on the degeneration of 

 the ovaries, are the assumption of certain of the secondary male 

 characters. These are apparently more marked in some animals 



1 Dudley, The Principles and Practice of Gynaecology, 4th Edition, 

 London, 1905. For a further account of the atrophic changes in the uterus 

 and other generative organs, see Sellheim. 



