THE FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS * 539 



tissue is distributed among the muscle bundles. The latter are arranged 

 in more or less parallel layers which are united by the delicate bands of 

 conned ive tissue. 



The outer fibrous coat consists of dense areolar tissue which is 

 well supplied with elastic fibers. It loosely unites the vaginal wall to 

 the surrounding tissues. In this coat is a plexus of blood-vessels and 

 lymphatics, from which branches pass to the muscular coat, and to the 

 mucosa, in which they form an abundant plexus. An extensive nerve 

 plexus, including spinal and sympathetic fibers, among which are many 

 small ganglia, is also found in the fibrous coat; it distributes motor 

 branches to the muscular wall and to the blood-vessels, and sensory 

 fibers to the mucosa, in which they end in relation with the cells of the 

 lining epithelium. 



The vaginal mucosa is reflected upon the outer wall of the cervix 

 uteri, and at or near the external os it is continuous with the mucosa of 

 the uterine cavity. Though occasional glands have been found in the 

 vaginal mucous membrane, lined either by mucus-secreting or by ciliated 

 cells, these glands would seem to be properly considered as anomalies, 

 since they are usually absent, the mucoid secretions of the vaginal canal 

 being chiefly provided by the abundant supply of mucus from the cervical 

 glands of the uterus. The vaginal mucosa is continuous below with that 

 of the vestibule. 



The Vestigial Structures 



The vestigial structures associated with the female reproductive system 

 include the vesicular appendage (hydatid of Morgagni), the epoophoron, 

 and the paroophoron. The same general statements made concerning 'the 

 male vestigial structures hold likewise for those of the female. 



The VESICULAR APPENDAGE is attached to the fimbriated end of the ovi- 

 duct, its stalk being continuous with the collecting duct of the epoophoron. 

 It is a globular pedunculated structure of small size (three to six milli- 

 meters diameter) ; it is lined with cuboidal epithelium, and may contain 

 fluid. It represents the atrophic end of the degenerated 'Wolffian duct. 

 There are besides a variable number of smaller accessory vesicular appen- 

 dages attached to the broad ligament. 



The EPOOPHORON (parovarium; organ of Kosenmiiller) lies between the 

 layers of the broad ligament in the triangular area between the ovary and 

 the ampulla of the oviduct. It consists of a variable number of tubules 

 (eighteen to twenty), the homologues of the ductuli efferentes of the male. 

 These tubules may be blind at only one or at both ends ; they may be lined 

 with ciliated columnar epithelium, or their lumina may become obliterated. 



