THE ABDOMEN, INTERIOR. 543 



the normal adult it measures about three inches in length, two 

 inches in width at the upper part and one at the lower, and 

 one inch in thickness. It is placed, with its widest dimen- 

 sion transverse, between the bladder and rectum and at the 

 upper end of the vagina, into which it projects. The organ 

 is divided into the body, the upper portion ; the isthmus, the 

 middle narrow portion ; and the cervix, the lower portion. 

 The cervix is about an inch long ; the upper part outside of 

 the vagina is the extravaginal part, the lower half-inch 

 within the vagina, intravaginal. The intravaginal portion 

 of the cervix presents the opening of the cavity of the uterus, 

 or the os uteri. 



Peritoneal Reflections. The peritoneum is reflected from 

 the bladder over the uterus to the rectum. It covers the 

 body of the uterus in front, and behind descends on to the 

 vagina about an inch before it is reflected on to the rectum. 

 The anterior depression between the bladder and the uterus 

 is the uterovesical fossa ; the posterior, between the rectum 

 and the vagina and uterus, is the recto-vaginal, or the pouch 

 of Douglas. 



The Ligaments of the Uterus. The peritoneum forms 

 semilunar folds between the sides of the uterus and the 

 bladder in front and the rectum behind ; these are the an- 

 terior and posterior ligaments of the organ. These folds 

 constitute the lateral boundaries of the anterior and posterior, 

 or uterovesical and rectovaginal pouches. 



From the sides of the uterus the peritoneum extends in 

 a broad double fold to the lateral pelvic wall, forming the 

 broad ligaments of the uterus. 



In the free margin of each ligament is the Fallopian 

 tube ; on the posterior surface, the ovary connected to the 

 uterus by a band about one and one-half inches long 

 (the ligament of the ovary) ; at about the middle of the 



