THE OVARIES. 669 



Function. The uterus receives and retains the ovum 

 during the whole period of gestation, from a short time 

 after conception, to birth ; and is also the prime agent in 

 the expulsion of the child. 



THE OVARIES. 



The ovaries (testes muliebres, Fig. 211,) are two small, 

 flattened, oval bodies, one on each side of the pelvis, 

 situated in the posterior fold of the broad ligament, and 

 connected to the uterus by means of the broad and round 

 ligaments. These bodies are of a pale color, about an 

 inch in length, and about an inch and a half distant from 

 the uterus. Both the situation and size, however, depend- 

 upon age and pregnancy. In the foetus, like the testes, 

 they occupy the lumbar regions, whence they gradually 

 descend into the pelvis. During pregnancy they ascend 

 into the abdomen along with the uterus, and after partu- 

 rition, for a short time, they are found in the iliac fossa. 

 They are proportionally larger in the foetus than in the. 

 adult, are found to lessen in size after birth, to enlarge 

 again at puberty, and then to diminish and become wasted 

 in old age. 



Structure. Each ovary is composed of an outer coat, 

 which is serous and derived from the peritoneum a middle, 

 which resembles the tunica albuginea of the testes, and 

 is a white, strong, fibrous capsule, sending prolongations 

 into the interior of the gland, which divide it into irregu- 

 lar partitions, like the interlacing of areolar tissue. Lining 

 this fibrous coat is seen a vascular one, which also goes 

 into the interior, and assists in forming the areolar or cel- 

 lular tissue. 



This latter tissue is the stroma or spongy bed of authors, 

 in which are deposited a number of small vesicles called 

 the Graafan vesicles. Their average number is from ten 

 to fifteen in the mature state, though the microscope re- 

 veals numerous others not yet arrived at maturity. Each 

 of the Graafian vesicles is represented as a small, trans- 

 parent cyst, varying in size from a pin's head to that of a 



