THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 187 



male and female. The female organs are more abundantly devel- 

 oped than those of the male, and have more intricate functions to 

 fulfill. They consist of two secreting organs called ovaries, which 

 are charged with the elaboration of the ovum or egg ; the uterine 

 tube through which the ovum passes on leaving the ovary; 

 the uterus or womb in which it rests after its impregnation, 

 and in which it remains until it is fully developed ; and the 

 vagina or canal through which the foetus or young animal when 

 perfected is discharged. In addition there are two mammas or 

 milk-producing glands enclosed in the skin, and attached to the 

 lower part of the abdomen and inner parts of the thighs, each of 

 which has a set of secreting glands and milk ducts flowing into 

 a tube which has its orifice in the teat. These milk glands are 

 called the udder. The ovum is a cell about Viooth of an inch in di- 

 ameter, which is contained in another cell or ovisac, of which the 

 ovaries contain a certain number. At stated periods called the 

 oestrum or condition of " heat," the ovaries become excited and 

 distended, and discharge one (or more) of these ovisacs, which, par- 

 taking of the condition of the ovaries, becomes distended and bursts, 

 releasing the ovum, which, when it is brought into contact with 

 the impregnating fluid of the male in the uterine tube, undergoes 

 a change, enters into the uterus, and hi course of time becomes a 

 living animal. When the female is not brought into connection 

 with the male at the season of heat, the ovum undergoes no change, 

 but passes on to the uterus, where it is absorbed. The impregna- 

 ted ovum, when it reaches the uterus, becomes grafted upon its 

 lining membrane and draws directly from the mother's blood the 

 materials for its development. 



In the male the reproductive organs consist of two glands, which 

 in the ram are suspended in a sac between the thighs. This sac is 

 called the scrotum. The glands, called the testicles or testes, are 

 each enclosed in four envelopes, being separate and distinct from 

 each other. One of these envelopes is a portion of the peritoneum 

 or lining of the abdomen, which descends through an opening in 

 the abdomen. This opening remains afterwards, and it is thus 

 that in castrating the ram, the inflammation which often takes 

 place, spreads into the abdomen and destroys the animal. The 

 glands are oval in shape, and consist of a grayish pulp. They are 

 attached to the spermatic cord and artery, and their function is to 

 secrete the spermatic or impregnating fluid, which is alkaline, and 

 contains minute filaments not larger than YBOOO to Vsoooth of an inch 

 in length. These filaments possess the power of independent 

 movement for some days after their expulsion from the organs of 



