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age. The principal point which was elicited from her history in 

 connexion with her complaint was, that, eighteen months before, a 

 swelling had somewhat suddenly appeared on the right side of the 

 external organs, which had caused her some pain for a few days, and 

 had then disappeared. In four or five months a similar swelling 

 again appeared, but was attended with so much suffering that a 

 medical man was consulted, who took it for an abscess and ordered 

 it to be poulticed. Again it passed away, again to recur at the end 

 of two months ; and so it had gone on at irregular intervals until the 

 time of her seeing me, when the pain of a renewed attack of unusual 

 severity had occasioned her some alarm. On examination, a swelling 

 the size of a goose-egg was found to extend between the external ab- 

 dominal ring and the centre of the labium on the right side, which 

 was very tense and firm to the touch ; and the cellular tissue, skin, 

 and mucous membrane of the labium were cedematous and inflamed. 

 It was painful, but by no means so painful as a labial abscess, which 

 in its general aspect it resembled ; and there was but little febrile 

 disturbance. A more critical examination detected the presence of a 

 solid body of an oval shape within the tissue of the labium, which 

 proved to be the ovarium, whose enlargement had so compressed the 

 surrounding tissues as to swell and inflame them. On the opposite 

 side there was another oval body, the size of a walnut, which passed 

 just beyond the outer ring, but readily slipped into the canal. This 

 was the left ovary in a quiescent state. The external sexual parts 

 were normally formed ; but the ostium vaginae was closed, a slight 

 indentation in the median line alone marking its position. Frequent 

 careful physical examinations failed to detect any trace of a vagina 

 or uterus, and the conclusion arrived at was that these central pelvic 

 organs had not been developed. The mammary glands were fully 

 formed. 



I have had repeated opportunities during the six years which have 

 intervened since first the case came before me, of examining the organs 

 both dui'ing the periods of ovarian excitement and during the inter- 

 vals. For nearly two years, however, I completely lost sight of her, 

 when I learned to my amazement, that, in spite of my strong admo- 

 nition both to her mother and herself that she should lead a single 

 life, she had married. For some time past I have seen her more fre- 

 quently, and have watched the recurrence of the ovarian swellings. 



