394 



DISSECTION OF THE PELVIS. 



and side. 



Round 

 ligament. 



Fallopian 

 tube. 



Ovary, 



and its 

 ligament. 



Vagina : 

 extent and 

 form ; 



length ; 

 axis ; 



relations. 



Bladder 



resembles 

 that of the 

 male ; 



differences 

 in the two 

 sexes. 



To each side are attached the broad ligament with the Fallopian 

 tube, the round ligament, and the ovary. 



The round or suspensory ligament (N) is a fibrous cord about five 

 inches long which is directed forwards and outwards to the internal 

 abdominal ring, and then through the inguinal canal to end in the 

 groin (see p. 277). This cord lies over the obliterated hypogastric, 

 and the external iliac artery ; and it is surrounded by the 

 peritoneum, which accompanies it a short way into the canal. 



The FALLOPIAN TUBE (M),. about four inches long, is contained in 

 the upper or free border of the broad ligament. One end is con- 

 nected to the uterus close to the fundus, while the other is folded 

 round the ovary. At the uterine end the tube is of small size, but 

 at the opposite extremity it is dilated like a trumpet, and fringed 

 (fig. 146), forming the corpus fimbriatum : one of the fimbriae is 

 attached to the upper part of the ovary. 



The OVARY (L) is oval in form, but rather flattened, and very 

 variable in size. It forms a projection at the back of the broad 

 ligament, and is invested by the peritoneum except along one (the 

 attached) border. In the natural condition it lies nearly vertically 

 against the side wall of the pelvis, and is embraced by the outer 

 part of the Fallopian tube : the direction of its free border varies. 

 Its lower end, which is directed somewhat forwards, is attached to 

 the uterus by the special fibrous band already noticed, about one 

 inch and a half in length, the ligament of the ovary. 



The VAGINA (fig. 146 and fig. 147, i) is the tube by which the 

 uterus communicates with the exterior of the body. It is com- 

 pressed from before backwards, being slit-like in section from side 

 to side ; and its length is about three inches. As it follows the 

 bend of the rectum, it is slightly curved ; and its axis corresponds 

 below with that of the outlet, but higher up with that of the cavity 

 of the pelvis. 



In front of the vagina are the base of the bladder, and the 

 urethra ; and behind it is the rectum, but the peritoneum inter- 

 venes between the two for a short distance at the upper end. It is 

 transmitted through an opening in the recto-vesical fascia, which 

 sends a sheath along the lower half of the tube ; and the levator ani 

 lies along the side external to this. The upper end receives the 

 neck of the uterus by an aperture in the anterior wall ; and the 

 lower end, the narrowest part of the canal, is encircled by the 

 sphincter vaginae muscle. A large plexus of veins surrounds the 

 vagina within its sheath. In children, and in the virgin, the 

 external aperture is partly closed by the hymen (p. 255). 



The BLADDER (fig. 146 and fig. 147, H) is placed at the fore 

 part of the pelvis, in front of the vagina, and in contact with the 

 back of the pubic bones. Its positions and relations so closely 

 resemble those of the bladder in the male body, as to render 

 unnecessary a separate description of them (p. 387). The chief 

 differences in the bladder of the two sexes are the following : 



In the female the bladder is more globular than in the male, 

 and the transverse often exceeds the longitudinal measurement. 



