132 PLAIN FACTS FOE OLD AND YOUNG 



into the cavity of the abdomen instead of passing into 

 the tube. Even in this situation it may be fecundated. 

 Impregnated ova thus left in abnormal positions un- 

 dergo a greater or less degree of development. They 

 commonly result in the death of the mother. 



Twins.— The human female usually matures but one 

 ovum at each menstrual period, the two ovaries acting 

 alternately. Occasionally two ova are matured at once. 

 If fecundation occurs, the result will be a development 

 of two embryos at the same time. In rare cases, three 

 or even four ova are matured at once, and by fe- 

 cundation produce a corresponding number of em- 

 bryos. As many as five children have been born alive 

 at one birth, but have not lived more than a few 

 minutes. 



The occurrence of multiple pregnancies may be ex- 

 plained by the supjoosition that ova matured subsequent 

 to the first fecundation are also fecundated. 



In lower animals, the uterus is often divided into 

 two long segments, which afford room for the devel- 

 oi^ment of a number of young at once. Some ancient 

 writers make most absurd statements with regard to 

 the fecundity of women. One declares that the simul- 

 taneous birth of seven or eight infants by the same 

 mother was an ordinary occurrence with Egj'-ptian 

 women! Other statements still more extravagant are 

 made by writers. For example : A traveler in the sev- 

 enteenth century wrote that he saw, in the year 1630, 

 in a church near The Hague, a tablet on which was an 

 inscription stating that a certain noted countess gave 

 birth at once, in the year 1276, to 365 infants, who were 

 all baptized and christened, the males being all called 

 John, and the females, Elizabeth. They all died on the 

 day of their birth, with their mother, according to the 



