TUE RKI'RODUCTIVE SYSTEM 381 



Blood-vessels.— The arteries enter the uterus from the broad 

 ligament and pass to the stratum vasculare of the muscularis, where 

 they undergo extensive ramification. From the arteries of the stra- 

 tum vasculare branches pass to the mucosa and give rise to ca])ilhiry 

 networks, which surround the glands and are especially dense just 

 beneath the surface epithelium. From these capillaries the blood 

 passes into a plexus of veins in the deeper portion of the mucosa, 

 and these in turn empty into the venous plexuses of the stratum vas- 

 culare. Thence the veins accompany the arteries, leaving the uterus 

 through the broad ligament. 



Lymphatics. — These begin as minute spaces in the stroma and 

 empty into the more definite lymph channels of the muscularis, 

 which are especially well developed in the stratum vasculare. These 

 in turn communicate with the larger lymph vessels in the subserous 

 connective tissue. 



Nerves.^ — Both medullated and non-medullated nerve fibres occur 

 in the uterus. The latter are associated with minute sympathetic 

 ganglia and supply the muscular tissue. The medullated fibres form 

 plexuses in the mucosa, from which are given off fine fibres which 

 terminate freely between the cells of the surface epithelium and of the 

 uterine glands. 



The Vagina 



The wall of the vagina consists of four coats, which from without 

 inward are fibrous, muscular, submucous, and mucous. 



The fibrous coat consists of dense connective tissue with many 

 coarse elastic fibres. It serves to connect the vagina with the sur- 

 rounding structures. 



The muscular coat is indistinctly divided into an outer longitudinal 

 and an inner circular layer. The latter is usually not well developed 

 and may be absent. 



The submucosa is a layer of loose connective tissue, especially rich 

 in elastic fibres and blood-vessels. Numerous large venous channels 

 give to the submucosa the character of erectile tissue. 



The mucous membrane consists of a papillated connective-tissue 

 stroma of mixed fibrous and elastic tissue. The stroma usually con- 

 tains diffuse lymphoid tissue and more rarely solitary nodules. Cover- 

 ing the stroma is a stratified squamous epithelium, the surface cells of 

 which are extremely thin. The surface of the mucosa is not smooth, 



