Physiology, Physiological Chemis- 

 try, and Experimental Pathology 

 of the Female Gonads (Exclu- 

 sive of the Mammae and 

 Placenta) 



SWALE VINCENT 



LONDON 



The Constituents of the Ovary Brief Account of the 



Cyclical Changes in the Ovary and in the Uterus 



Normal Physiological Functions 



The ovary in mammalia consists of a connective tissue stroma with 

 blood vessels, lymphatics, and nerves, enclosing the Graafian follicles with 

 the ova. At certain periods there are corpora lutea and atretic follicles, 

 and in certain species, the "interstitial gland." 



The cyclical changes in the ovary are ripening of the follicle, ovulation, 

 and formation of the corpus luteum. In the uterus we have the well known 

 phenomena of the estrous cycle consisting of growth with glandular ac- 

 tivity, regression and interval. 



The quiescent period is called the "anestrum." The "pro-estrum" is 

 distinguished by increased vascularization of the reproductive organs, 

 culminating in the estrus (heat), during which only, in the majority 

 of animals, the female will admit the male. Jn the human subjects and 

 the primates generally, menstruation corresponds to pro-estrum in the 

 lower animals. 



If conception takes place, estrus is followed by gestation, gestation is 

 followed by lactation, and this is succeeded in turn by another anestrum. 

 But if conception does not take place, estrus is followed by a metestrum, 

 during which there is a return to the normal on the part of the whole 

 system. 



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