THE OVAKY. 



1311 



OVAEIUM. 



The ovary is a solid body, flattened from side to side, and about the size and 

 shape of a large almond. Its length is usually between one and one and a half 

 inches, and the thickness from side to side between a quarter and half an inch. 

 In the adult the ovary is placed against the side wall of the pelvic cavity, and is 

 connected by peritoneal folds with the broad ligament of the uterus and with the 

 side wall of the pelvis. The position occupied by the ovary within the pelvic 

 cavity is fairly constant, although these ligaments do not hold the organ firmly 

 fixed in any definite place. 



In the ovary we recognise two extremities a superior extremity, larger and 

 more rounded, and an inferior extremity, somewhat pointed. The term extremitas 



External iliac artery 



External iliac vein 

 Hypogastric artery 



/'Ureter 



Ovary 

 Obliterated 

 umbilical artery 

 Round ligament 

 of uterus 



Superior vesical 

 artery 



Pubic ramus 



Obturator externus 



FIG. 1029. SIDE WALL OF THE FEMALE PELVIS, showing the position of the ovary and its relation to the 

 uterine tube. The pelvis has been cut in section parallel to, but at some distance from, the median 

 plane. 



tubaria is applied to the superior end of the ovary, as it is most intimately 

 connected with the uterine tube ; the term extremitas uterina is used with reference 

 to the inferior extremity, since this part of the ovary is connected with the uterus 

 by a fibrous cord, termed the ligament of the ovary. The flattened surfaces of the 

 ovary are called facies medialis and facies lateralis, and the borders separating 

 them margo meso various or mesovarian border, and margo liber or free border. The 

 free border is convex ; while the mesovarian, which is straighter and narrower, is 

 connected by a very short peritoneal fold, the mesovarium, with the posterior layer 

 of the broad ligament of the uterus. The vessels and nerves enter the ovary at 

 this mesovarian border, which is therefore often termed the hilum of the ovary. 



Position and Relations of the Ovary. When the ovary occupies its most 

 usual, or typical, position the long axis of the gland is vertical. Its lateral 

 surface lies against the wall of the pelvis, and its medial surface looks medially 

 towards the pelvic cavity. The peritoneum of the pelvic wall, where the ovary lies 



