692 



EGG AND FEMALE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 



sists of nutritious material, provided for the support of the embryo, 

 and of protective envelopes, like the shell and fibrous membranes. 



In the quadrupeds, another important modification of the oviducts 

 takes place. In these animals, the egg, which is originally of minute 

 size, is retained within the generative passages of the female during the 

 development of the embryo. While the upper part of the ovi(Juct, 

 accordingly, is quite narrow, and serves merely to transmit the egg 

 from the ovary, and to supply it with a little albuminous secretion, the 

 lower portions are much increased in size, and are lined with a mucous 

 membrane which is adapted to provide for the protection and nourish- 

 ment of the embryo during gestation. The upper and narrower por- 

 tions of the oviduct are known as the "Fallopian tubes," from Fallopius 1 

 who first described them in the 'human female ; while the lower and 



UTERUS AND OVARIES OP THE Sow. a, a. Ovaries. 6, b. Fallopian tubes. 

 c, c. Horns of the uterus, d. Body of the uterus, e. Vagina. 



more highly developed portions constitute the uterus. The two halves 

 of the uterus unite with each other upon the median line near their 

 inferior termination, to form a central organ, termed its "body;" while 

 the ununited parts are known as its "cornua" or "horns." 



In the human species, the ovaries consist of Graafian follicles, imbed- 

 ded in a somewhat dense connective tissue, supplied witli an abundance 

 of bloodvessels, and covered with an opaque, yellowish- white layer of 

 fibrous tissue, called the " albugineous tunic." Over the whole is a layer 

 of peritoneum, which is reflected upon the bloodvessels supplying the 

 ovary, and is continuous with the broad ligaments of the uterus ; but 

 which elsewhere is closely consolidated with the albugineous tunic. 



The oviducts commence by a wide expansion, provided with fringed 

 edges, called the " fimbriated extremity of the Fallopian tube." The 

 Fallopian tubes themselves are narrow and convoluted, terminating, on 

 each side, in the upper part of the body of the uterus. The body of the 

 uterus, in the human species, is so much developed at the expense of the 

 cornua, that the latter hardly appear to have an existence, and no trace 

 of them is visible externally. But on opening the uterus, its cavity is 



1 Opera Omnia. Francofurti, 1600. Observations Anatomicae, p. 421. 



