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3B OBSTETRICAL ANATOMY. 



Pig. 



In the Pig these canals are present; the folds of mucous membrane 

 are longitudinal, and gradually subside towards the line of separation be- 

 tween the vagina and vulva. The vagina is from eight to nine inches 

 long. 



Bitch and Cat. 



There are no " Gaertner's canals " in the Bitch or Cat. The vagina is 

 of comparatively great length, and has longitudinal rugae, which are in- 

 terrupted by transverse folds. In both animals the canal is wider towards 

 the vulva than the uterus, and its walls are rendered very thick by white 

 fibrous tissue, in addition to the non-striated muscular fibres it contains. 



SECTION II. — THE UTERUS. 



The UTERUS, or womb (Figs. 12, i ; 15, 8), is an elongated musculo- 

 membranous sac which receives the ovum, and constitutes the receptacle 

 for the nutrition, maturation, and, finally, after a certain period, for the 

 expulsion of the foetus. It is situated in the sub-lumbar region of the 

 abdomen, towards the inlet of the pelvic cavity, into which its posterior 

 extremity enters. This portion — the body — represents a simple cylindri- 

 cal reservoir, slightly flattened from above to below, while the anterior 

 part is bifid ; and the two divisions — the cornua or hortis — curve upwards 

 and forwards. The body is situated horizontally beneath the rectum, 

 which is in contact with it after passing between the two cornua ; on 

 each side of its upper external face it receives the insertions of wide lig- 

 aments ; and its sides and anterior face are in contact with the intestines. 

 Its lower surface is in contact with the bladder and the pelvic curvature 

 of the colon ; while its anterior extremity is continuous with each of the 

 cornua, and the posterior is separated from the vagina by the constriction 

 named ^the col^ cervix, or neck of the uterus. The cornua are cylindrical 

 bodies, and, lodged among the intestines occupying this region, proceeck 

 at an angle from the body in an upward direction, describing two curves ; 

 an inferior, convex, which is free ; and a superior, concave, to which the 

 suspensory ligaments are attached. Each horn has also a posterior ex- 

 tremity or base, a continuation of the body of the organ ; and an anterior 

 or summit rounded into a cul-de-sac which is turned upwards, and has at 

 the bottom a small tubercle, the insertion of the oviduct. 



Floating in the abdominal cavity, like the intestines, the uterus is also 

 attached, as they are, by two membranous bands which suspend them from 

 the sub-lumbar region, and are consequently designated the broad ox sus- 

 pensory ligaments of the uterus ; also, from the general resemblance to the 

 wings of a bat, the ala vespertilionis. These bands, derived from the 

 peritoneum of the abdomen, are larger in front than behind, and in shape 

 are irregularly triangular ; behind, they are close to each other, but in 

 front diverge like the sides of the letter V. They descend from the 

 lower face of the lumbar region, and attach themselves by their inferior 

 border to the sides of the upper face of the body and the smaller curva- 

 ture of the cornua ; their anterior border is free and sustains the oviducts 

 and ovaries, the first being included between the two layers of the liga- 

 ment, while the ovary, placed within it, also receives a layer detached 

 from the principal one, which with it forms a little cup-shaped cavity. 

 Another small, long, and narrow band of peritoneum is observed exter- 

 nal to the broad ligament ; this can be traced posteriorly to the internal 



