190 VISCERAL ANATOMY. 



Canal of Nuck, is the extension of the above-named process of perito- 

 neum into the inguinal canal. It exists in the foetus, and is usually ob- 

 literated in the adult. 



Describe the Uterine Structure. The uterine wall has 3 coats perito- 

 neal, muscular and mucous. Its 



Peritoneal or Serous Coat, invests the body of the organ, excepting on its 

 lower anterior fourth. 



Muscular Coat, constitutes the chief bulk of the uterus. It consists of 

 bundles of unstriped muscular fibres, disposed in 3 layers interlaced 

 together ; circular fibres predominating in the cervix, longitudinal fibres 

 in the body of the organ. 



Mucous Coat, is very thick, j 1 ^ to y$ inch, and closely adherent to the 

 muscufer tissue, having no basement layer of connective tissue. It is 

 covered with ciliated columnar epithelium, and studded with mucous 

 follicles and glands, which are most numerous in the cervix. The latter, 

 when distended by their own secretions, form sacs, which Naboth mistook 

 for human ova, and hence were named the Ovules of Naboth, 



Enumerate the Uterine Vessels and Nerves. Its< 



Arteries, are the Uterine, from the anterior trunk of the external iliac, anas- 

 tomosing with twigs from the Ovarian (spermatic branch of the abdominal 

 aorta). 



Veins, accompany the arteries, and in the impregnated state become sinuses. 

 They end in the uterine plexuses. 



Lymphatics, those of the cervix end in the sacral and internal iliac glands, 

 those of the fundus in the lumbar glands. 



Werves, are derived from the inferior hypogastric and ovarian plexuses, and 

 from the 3d and 4th sacral nerves. 



Describe the Fallopian Tubes or Oviducts. They are two tubes, 

 each about 5 inches in length, and T ^- inch in calibre, situated in the 

 free margin of the broad ligament, and extending from the superior angles 

 of the uterus * outwards, to terminate in free, trumpet- shaped ends, the 

 Fimbriated Extremities,^ surrounded by fringe-like processes, the Fimbri<z, 

 of which one or more are attached to the ovary of that side. Their structure 

 is similar to that of the uterus, their mucous lining being continuous with 

 the uterine mucous membrane and with the peritoneum. They open by 

 one end into the uterus at its cornua, by the other end into the peritoneal 

 cavity. 



What are the Ovaries ? Two oval bodies,-^ of whitish color, situated in 

 the broad ligament, behind and below the Fallopian tubes, one on each side 

 of the uterus, to which they are attached by the Ligaments of the Ovaries.^ 



