78 



HEALTH AND DISEASE 



minute aperture scarcely larger than an ordinary pinhole. The other end 

 opens into the abdominal cavity, and is attached by about \ inch of its 

 circumference to the ovary (fig. 231). It is trumpet-shaped and surrounded 

 by a fringe of mucous membrane, from which it has been called the " fim- 

 briated extremity ". 



The Ovary (fig. 231, r) is oval in form and laterally compressed, pale 

 pink in colour, and weighs about 3 ounces. It hangs in the abdominal 

 cavity, suspended in a special pouch from the internal layer of the broad 

 ligament; its surface is usually very uneven, from the bulging of small 



D-, 



Fig. 231. Fallopian Tube connecting the Uterus with the Ovary 



A, Uterus. B, Fallopian Tube, c, Its Fimbriated extremity. D, Opening into the Tube, through 

 which the Ovum or Egg E, passes from the Ovary F. o, Round Ligament of the Ovary. 



cysts, and is scarred here and there, marking the points at which other 

 cysts have come and gone. It has two curvatures; the greater or convex 

 border is turned upwards and somewhat backwards, and the lesser curvature 

 or " hilum " looks downward and a little forward. This is the attached 

 part and receives the blood-vessels, &c. The two extremities or poles are 

 anterior and posterior; the former gives attachment to the Fallopian tube 

 while the latter is connected with the ovarian ligament. This ligament, 

 composed of fibrous tissue and unstriated muscle, extends from the free 

 extremity of the horn of the uterus to the ovary, and occupies the internal 

 of the two layers which form the anterior margin of the broad ligament. 



The essential portion of the gland consists of small bladder-like bodies 

 termed " Graafian follicles " or ovisacs (fig. 232, E, G). These, when fully 

 developed, are filled with fluid and contain the eggs. A young Graafian 



