THE FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS 



525 



The lymphatics arise in the cortical stroma by anastomosing canals 

 and capillaries of irregular caliber, which are especially abundant in 

 the walls of the Graafian follicles. These vessels converge toward the 

 medulla,, where they enter lymphatics which are supplied with valves, 

 and find their way to the lymph nodes of the pelvic and lumbar regions. 



The nerves are chiefly derived from the ovarian sympathetic plexus. 

 They enter the hilum and are distributed to the walls of the blood- 

 vessels, and to the stroma of the ovary; here they form a rich terminal 

 plexus in the walls of the follicles. Whether or not the naked fibrils are 

 distributed to the epithelial cells within the follicle has not been satis- 

 factorily determined. The small ganglia of the medulla include also 

 pheochrome cells (Winiwarter) ; and certain sensory fibers are said to 

 end in lamellar corpuscles. 



The Oviduct 



The oviduct, uterine tube, or Fallopian tube is a narrow duct about 

 4V2 inches long, 

 leading from the 

 ovary to the cavity 

 of the uterus. It 

 consists of a broad, 

 funnel - shaped, 

 fringed or fimbri- 

 ated extremity (or 

 infundibulum), a 

 constricted neck, 

 an intermediate 

 ampulla of consid- 

 erable diameter, 

 and a slender isth- 

 mus by which the 

 oviduct communi- 

 cates with the ute- 

 rine cavity. 



Throughout the 

 entire tube its wall, 

 which becomes 

 gradually thinner 

 from isthmus to infundibulum, consists of three coats mucous, mus- 

 cular and serous but the character of its mucous membrane differs 



FIG. 462. FROM A TRANSECTION OF THE AMPULLA OF THE 

 OVIDUCT, SHOWING THE STRUCTURE OF THE MUCOSA. 

 "X 280. (After Williams.) 



