INTRODUCTION. 



The Ovum which forms the subject of this investigation orig- 

 inates from a young woman who committed suicide with phos- 

 phorus. The post mortem examination was performed by -Ober- 

 medizinalrat Prof. Dr. Schmorl, in the pathological institute . of 

 the Friedrichsstaedter hospital in Dresden. 



The fact that this woman had committed suicide suggested 

 the possibility of a pregnancy and for that reason the anterior 

 wall of the uterus was split and the specimen carefully hard- 

 ened, first in formalin and then in increasing strengths of alco- 

 hol. Although repeated and careful examinations of the endo- 

 metrium were made with a magnifying glass, no ovum could 

 be detected. Still the greatly swollen mucous membrane which 

 was divided into irregular areas by furrows, as we are accus- 

 tomed to see in a pregnant uterus, was conspicuous and induced 

 us to make repeated examinations during the process of harden- 

 ing. Finally a small spot was detected, lighter than the sur- 

 rounding tissue, situated on the posterior wall of the corpus uteri 

 a little below its center and immediately above a deep furrow. 

 In order to study this small spot more carefully, a square piece 

 of mucous membrane about 1 cm. long, with its underlying mus- 

 cularis was excised and after further hardening by the labora- 

 tory assistant, Mr. Ernst Thomas, cut into a continuous series of 

 sections, five microns thick and then stained in haematoxylin- 

 eosin. The middle one hundred and sixty sections comprised a 

 very small ovum whose measurements were 1.4 mm. long 0.9 

 mm. deep and 0.8 mm. wide, an ovum about the size of that 

 described by Peters, however a trifle smaller, its length being 

 0.2 mm. shorter than that of Peters, which measured 1.6 mm. in 

 length, 0.8 mm. in depth and 0.9 mm. in breadth. No information 

 could be obtained concerning the time of the last or first missing 

 menstruation. Hence it seems useless to attempt any estimate of 

 the age of this ovum. In the following pages it is intended to 

 compare the results of the microscopic examinations with those 

 of Peters, since this one and the one described by him are the 

 two smallest and youngest human ova ever observed. 



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