THE FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS 



531 



tinuous with the similar, though still more fibrous, layer of the vaginal 

 mucosa. 



The uterine glands are divisible into two types those of the body of 

 the organ, and those of its cervix. The former are, perhaps, to be re- 

 garded as tubular imaginations of the lining epithelium, whose function 



FIG. 466. FROM THE CERVIX UTERI OF A GIRL OF SIXTEEN YEARS, SHOWING THE 

 CERVICAL GLANDS IN SECTION. 



a-a, lining epithelium. Hematein and eosin. Photo. X 102. 



is one of epithelial regeneration rather than of glandular secretion. The 

 tubules of the cervix uteri are true mucus : secreting glands. 



The uterine glands proper, those of the body of the organ, are slightly 

 branched or forked tubules which traverse the entire breadth of the 

 mucosa, presenting a characteristic spiral or corkscrew course; their 

 blind extremities are often bent or turned to one side, apparently from 

 the proximity of the adjacent muscular coat. The glandular epithelium 



