72 THE VETERINARY SCIENCE 



II. — THE FEMALE. 



The female genital organs, or organs of the mare, are 

 very different from those of the horse. They are known as 

 follows: The ovaries, the fallopian tubes, or the tubes which 

 carry the ovum from the ovaries to the uterus or womb, the 

 uterus or womb, the vagina, and the vulva. 



9. The Ovaries. — The ovaries in the mare correspond to 

 the testicles in the horse. Each is about the size of a pigeon's 

 egg, and resembles it much in shape. They are held in place by 

 ligaments, and at the back part are provided with tubes leading 

 from them called the fallopian tubes. The ovaries secrete the 

 ovum or egg. This is a very minute body, which when 

 examined under the microscope is found to be only l-150th 

 of an inch in diameter. 



10. The Fallopian Tubes. — The fallopian tubes are two 

 canals, one on each side. They pass backward and upward, 

 and enter into the front part of the uterus or womb. These 

 small tubes are simply used to carry the ovum or egg up 

 from the ovaries and empty it into the womb or uterus. 



11. The Uterus or Womb. — The uterus or womb is a 

 muscular sac situated in the hip cavity, bounded above by the 

 rectum, below by the bladder, and on either side by the walls of 

 the hip cavity. It is divided into what is known as a body and a 

 neck. The body of the womb is very small, being only about 

 four to six inches in length and a couple of- inches in diameter 

 when the animal is not pregnant. Near the front end, at the 

 upper side, there are openings by which the ovum enters. When 

 the animal becomes pregnant, the body of the womb becomes 

 enlarged and passes forward and to the left side of the belly 

 or abdominal cavity. It continues to enlarge as the time of 

 pregnancy passes on, until the foetus, or young, has attained 

 its full size. After the mare has had her young the womb 

 begins to get smaller until it attains its natural size again. 

 The womb is very largely supplied with blood vessels and 

 nerves. This is especially so when the animal is pregnant, as 

 it takes a large amount of blood to nourish the foetus, or 

 young animal, before birth. It is made up of three coats. 

 The inner is called mucous membrane, and in the mare, while 

 pregnant, is covered with numerous small processes about 

 the size of peas, to which the placenta or cleaning of the foal 

 is attached. The muscular coat is next to that of the mucous 

 coat, and lies between the outer and inner coats of the womb. 



