RUDIMENTARY ORGANS. 



2001 



trapezoidal in outline, and measures from 2-2.5 cm - i n length and about 1.75 cm. 

 in width. It consists of from 8-20 narrow wavy canals, which, beginning with 

 closed and slightly expanded ends, diverge from the vicinity of the hilum of the 

 ovary and join, almost at right angles, a common chief duct that lies close and parallel 

 to the oviduct and bears to the smaller tubules the relation of the back of a comb to 

 its teeth. The transverse tubules (ductuli transversi), the remains of the sexual 

 tubules of the Wolffian body, may extend as far as the hilum, or, as in the young 

 child, even penetrate into the medulla of the ovary and be continuous with the rudi- 

 mentary medullary tubes therein found, since the latter, as well as the transverse 

 tubules themselves, are vestiges of the same embryonic structures. The common 

 longitudinal canal (ductus epoophori longitudinalis), closed at both ends, is a persistent 

 portion of the Wolffian duct. From its embryological relations it is evident that the 

 epoophoron is homologous with the epididymis (the transverse tubules corresponding 

 to the ductuli efferentes and the coni vasculosi, and the longitudinal duct to the 

 canal of the epididymis), since both are direct derivations from the Wolffian tubules 

 and duct. In the erect posture, when in its normal position within the mesosalpinx, 

 the longitudinal duct is approximately vertical and lies parallel with the Fallopian 



FIG. 1696. 



Ligament 



Epoophoron Oviduct ovar: ' 

 Ostiutn \ \ I r 

 abdoniinale I /. 



Cavity of 

 uterus 



Ligament 

 of ovary 



Oviduct 

 laid open 



Epoophoron 



Infundibulutn 



imbriae 

 Fimbria ovarica 



Hydatid of 

 Morgagni 



und ligament 



Right ovary 



Round ligament 



Broad ligament 

 I 



al os 



s Vagina 



Broad ligaments, viewed from behind, have been stretched out and pinned, the posterior 

 wall of uterus and vagina removed and right oviduct laid open. Ovaries do not occupy their 

 normal position, their long axes here being horizontal instead of approximately vertical. 



tube, while the transverse tubules are horizontally disposed. The chief duct may be 

 interrupted and connected with the secondary tubules in groups, or, on the other 

 hand, it may be prolonged as Gartner's duct (page 2043) far beyond its usuSl length. 

 In the child, the transverse tubules, from .3-. 4 mm. in diameter, usually possess a 

 lumen throughout their entire length, but later in life the minute canals may undergo 

 partial or complete occlusion and may be the seat of cystic dilatations. The walls of 

 the tubules and duct consist of a fibrous coat, which sometimes contains bundles 

 of involuntary muscle, lined by a single layer of epithelial cells that vary in form from 

 low cuboid to columnar, and in places, or occasionally in the adult and frequently in 

 the child, bear cilia. The epoophoron is most satisfactorily demonstrated by holding 

 the stretched mesosalpinx against the light ; it is more conspicuous in the broad liga- 

 ment of the young child on account of its development and the greater transparency 

 of the overlying tissues. In common with the sexual organs, the epoophoron increases 

 during the years leading to sexual maturity and atrophies in advanced age. During 

 pregnancy it is said to be unusually vascular (Merkel). 



Gartner's duct results from the more or less extensive persistence of portions 

 of the Wolffian duct that usually disappear by the end of foetal life, and is, therefore, 

 a continuation, direct or interrupted, of the longitudinal canal of the epoophoron. 

 Although by no means constant and often represented by only a short atrophic 



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