EGG AND FEMALE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 555 



like form, and secrete a very firm, adhesive, transparent mucus, 

 which is destined to block up the cavity of the cervix during ges- 

 tation, and guard against the accidental displacement of the egg. 

 Some of these follicles are frequently distended with their secretion, 

 and project, as small, hard, rounded eminences, from the surface 

 of the mucous membrane. In this condition they are sometimes 

 designated by the name of " ovula Nabothi," owing to their having 

 been formerly mistaken for eggs, or ovules. 



The cavity of the cervix uteri is terminated below by a second 

 constriction, the "os externum." Below this comes the vagina, 

 which constitutes the last division of the female generative pas- 

 sages. 



The accessory female organs of generation consist therefore of 

 ducts or tubes, by means of which the egg is conveyed from within 

 outward. These ducts vary in the degree and complication of 

 their development, according to the importance of the task assigned 

 to them. In the lower orders, they serve merely to convey the egg 

 rapidly to the exterior, and to supply it more or less abundantly 

 with an albuminous secretion. In the higher classes and in the 

 human subject, they are adapted to the more important function of 

 retaining the egg during the period of gestation, and of providing 

 during the same time for the nourishment of the young embryo. 



