THE UTERUS. 407 



tubes, ligaments of the ovaries, and the round ligaments. 

 The vessels ascend at the sides of the body. The cervix, or 

 neck, is the constricted portion around which is attached 

 the vagina. The inferior extremity of the uterus 

 presents in the upper part of the vagina. At its centre 

 is the os uteri, which is the outlet of the uterine canal. 

 It is a transverse opening, about the size of a flattened 

 straw. The os is bounded by the anterior short and thick 

 lip, and the posterior long and narrow lip. The uterus is 

 held in place by three pairs of ligaments, formed by the 

 peritoneum : two anterior, the utero-vesical ; two poste- 



FIG. 175. INTERNAL GENITAL ORGANS, SHOWING CAVITY OF 

 UTERUS AND FALLOPIAN TUBES. 



A. fundus : B, cavity of body of the uterus ; O, cavity of cervix ; D D. canals of Fallo- 

 pian tubes cut open : E'E, fimbriated extremities laid open : F F, ovaries, with Graafian 

 follices; G, cavity of vagina; H 11, ovarian ligaments; G G, round ligaments. 



rior, the utero-rectal, which form the lateral boundaries of 

 Douglas's cul-de-sac ; and the two lateral, or broad 

 ligaments, attached to the sides of the uterus. They 

 pass outward to the sides of the pelvic cavity, dividing 

 it into an anterior and posterior portion. The cavity of 

 the uterus is divided into the cavity of the cervix and 

 the cavity of the body, each about one and a quarter 

 inches long. The cavity of the cervix is fusiform in 

 shape, and communicates with the cavity of the body 

 through the ostium internum. The mucous membrane 

 along the anterior and posterior walls of the cavity of the 

 cervix presents longitudinal columns, from which pass 



