THE MAMMARY GLANDS. 411 



oped, and scattered profusely through the ovary. They 

 measure about T ^ inch in diameter. At puberty they 

 begin to mature, approach the surface of the ovary, and 

 burst. The ruptured vesicle becomes distended with 

 blood, forming the corpus luteum, which is a yellowish 

 scar left after the rupture of the vesicle. This process is 

 repeated in the human subject, during her menstrual life, 

 regularly under normal conditions every twenty-eight 

 days until interrupted by fecundation. Lying near the 

 ovaries is the organ of Rosenm tiller, a relic of foetal life. 

 The round ligaments are attached to the angles of 

 the uterus in front of the Fallopian tubes ; they are 

 about four inches and a half long, and run along the 

 inguinal canal, to become lost in the structure of the 

 labia majora. The ligament of the ovary is formed of 

 muscular fibre, and is attached to the superior angle of 

 the uterus behind the Fallopian tubes. 



THE MAMMARY GLANDS. 



In the female the mammary glands are two large 

 hemispherical structures placed upon the anterior part 

 of the chest between the third and the seventh ribs. 

 They undergo remarkable development at puberty, in- 

 crease in size during pregnancy, and subserve the func- 

 tion of lactation. They are surmounted by a conical 

 structure, the nipple. The skin of the nipple, and for 

 some distance surrounding it, is deeply pigmented and 

 abundantly provided with large sebaceous follicles. The 

 gland-tissue of the mammae consists of lobes, these of 

 lobules, these of clusters of vesicles. They are lined by 

 epithelium which, during lactation, undergoes fatty 

 change. The vesicles empty into minute tubuli, these 

 into larger, and finally converge to form from fifteen to 

 twenty ducts that open on the surface of the nipple. 



