UTERINE MUCOUS MEMBRANE. 187 



ciliated cells meet the squamous endothelium -cells lining the 

 peritoneum. The mucosa is thrown into broad folds or 

 plications, mostly branching, which project radially into the 

 lumen of the tube. Between the mucosa and submucosa is a 

 thin layer of involuntary muscle representing a muscularis 

 mucosae. The submucous coat is made up of areolar tissue 

 containing the larger vessels. The oviducts contain no glands. 

 Outside the submucous coat is a muscular coat, composed of a 

 thick inner circular layer and a thinner outer longitudinal 

 layer of involuntary muscle. The outermost or serous cover- 

 ing of the oviduct is formed by the peritoneum and subperi- 

 toneal tissue. 



Remnants of foetal structures : The parovarium is a series 

 of tubules lined with simple columnar epithelium, situ- 

 ated in the broad ligament near the hilum of the ovary 

 and between the latter and oviduct; they are remains of 

 tubules of the embryonic Wolffian body. Other similar 

 tubules, which have received special names, are also sometimes 

 found in the broad ligament. Pedunculated hydatids (hydatids 

 of Morgagni), small epithelial sacs, are sometimes attached to 

 the ovary, parovarium, or a h'mbria of the oviduct. 



The Uterus. 



The uterus is a hollow, muscular organ, the wall of which 

 is composed chiefly of involuntary muscle, lined internally 

 by mucous membrane and externally by serous membrane 

 (Fig. 73). 



The uterine mucous membrane consists of epithelium resting 

 on a tunica propria which contains numerous tubular glands. 

 The epithelium lining the uterus is a single layer of short 

 columnar or cuboidal ciliated cells. The tunica propria is a 

 layer of connective tissue of an embryonal or growing type, 

 containing fusiform connective-tissue cells and lymphoid cells 

 or leukocytes in abundance, with scanty intercellular ele- 

 ments; it contains abundant bloodvessels, extends downward 

 to the muscular coat, and in it are imbedded the uterine 

 glands. 



The embryonic character of the connective tissue of the 

 tunica propria is apparently due to the fact that the latter in 



