THE INTERNAL ORGANS. 1027 



and ischium on each side by a crus ; the body is short and concealed beneath the 

 labia ; the free extremity, or glans clitoridis, is a small rounded tubercle, consisting 

 of spongy erectile tissue, and highly sensitive. It is provided, like the penis, with 

 a suspensory ligament, and with two small muscles, the Erectores clitoridis, which 

 are inserted into the crura of the clitoris. The clitoris consists of two corpora 

 cavernosa, composed of erectile tissue enclosed in a dense layer of fibrous 

 membrane, united together along their inner surfaces by an incomplete fibrous 

 pectiniform septum. 



Between the clitoris and the entrance of the vagina is a triangular smooth 

 surface, bounded on each side by the nymphae ; this is the vestibule. 



The orifice of the urethra (meatus urinarius) is situated at the back part of the 

 vestibule, about an inch below the clitoris and near the margin of the vagina, 

 surrounded by a prominent elevation of the mucous membrane. Below the meatus 

 urinarius is the orifice of the vagina, more or less closed in the virgin by a mem- 

 branous fold, the hymen. 



The Hymen varies much in shape. Its commonest form is that of a ring, 

 generally broadest posteriorly : sometimes it is represented by a semilunar fold, 

 with its concave margin turned toward the pubes. A complete septum stretched 

 across the lower part of the vaginal orifice is called u imperforate hymen." 

 Occasionally it is cribriform, or its free margin forms a membranous fringe, or it 

 may be entirely absent. It may persist after copulation, so that it cannot be 

 considered as a test of virginity. After parturition the small rounded elevations 

 known as the carunculce myrtiformes are found as the remains of the hymen. 



Glands of Bartholin. On each side of the commencement of the vagina, and 

 behind the hymen, is a round or oblong body, of a reddish-yellow color, and of 

 the size of a horse-bean, analogous to Cowper's gland in the male. It is called 

 the gland of Bartholin. Each gland opens by means of a long single duct 

 immediately external to the hymen, in the angle or groove between it and the 

 nympha. 



Bulbi Vestibuli. Extending from the clitoris, along either side of the vestibule, 

 and lying a little behind the nymphae, are two large oblong masses, about an inch 

 in length, consisting of a plexus of veins enclosed in a thin layer of fibrous 

 membrane. These bodies are narrow in front, rounded below, and are connected 

 with the crura of the clitoris and rami of the pubes : they are termed by Kobelt the 

 bulbi vestibuli, and he considers them analogous to the bulb of the corpus 

 spongiosum in the male. Immediately in front of these bodies is a smaller venous 

 plexus, continuous with the bulbi vestibuli behind and the glans clitoridis in front : 

 it is called by Kobelt the pars intermedia, and is considered by him as analogous 

 to that part of the body of the corpus spongiosum which immediately succeeds 

 the bulb. 



INTERNAL ORGANS. 



The Internal Organs of Generation are-^the vagina, the uterus and its append- 

 ages, the Fallopian tubes, the ovaries and their ligaments. 



The Vagina extends from the vulva to the uterus. It is situated in the cavity 

 of the pelvis, behind the bladder and in front of the rectum. Its direction is 

 curved upward and backward, at first in the line of the outlet, and afterward in 

 that of the axis of the cavity of the pelvis. Its walls are ordinarily in contact, 

 and its usual shape on transverse section is that of an H, the transverse limb 

 being slightly curved forward or backward, whilst the lateral limbs are somewhat 

 convex toward the median line. Its length is about two and a half inches along 

 its anterior wall, and three and a half inches along its posterior wall. It is con- 

 stricted at its commencement, and becomes dilated medially, and narrowed near its 

 uterine extremity ; it surrounds the vaginal portion of the cervix uteri, a short 

 distance from the os, its attachment extending higher up on the posterior than on 

 the anterior wall of the uterus. 



