176 



PHYSIOLOGY 



CHAP. 



particularly in apes, mares, and cows ; in the bitch it is repre- 

 sented, according to my observations, by a slight mucous secretion, 

 scarcely sanguineous. But in mammals in general the menstrual 

 period has its analogue in the period of rutting, or " heat," as the 



FIG. 63. Transverse section of uterine tube near its abdominal orifice. A little enlarged. 

 (Orthmann.) pm, folds of the mucosa, numerous and much ramified. The muscular tunic is 

 very thin and rich in vessels. 



veterinarians say; this observation was made by Aristotle, and 

 repeated by Bischoff in 1844 



Menstruation is preceded and accompanied in woman by a 

 congestive state of all the sexual apparatus, specially the uterus, 



FIG. 64. Transverse section of uterine tube near its uterine orifice. A little enlarged. (Orth- 

 mann.) in, tunica mucosa ; me, circular stratum of muscular tunic ; ml, longitudinal stratum 

 of muscular tunic ; ss, subserous coat ; v, blood-vessels. 



and we shall consider later the different phases, the varied 

 intensity, and the haemorrhagic effects -of the process. This con- 

 gestive and haemorrhagic state is accompanied by a number of 

 abnormal phenomena, both subjective and objective, which involve 

 almost all the vital processes in woman. Heaviness in the loins, 

 a sense of tension, occasionally of pain in the uterus and ovaries 





