FORM AND POSITION OF THE FTEEUS. 



983 



duplicature, named the ligamentum latum, which, together with the parts 

 contained within it, will be presently described. 



Fig. 684. 



Fig. 684. ANTERIOR VIEW OP THE UTERUS AND ITS APPENDAGES, 5 



a, fundus ; 6, body ; c, cervix ; e, front of the upper part of the vagina ; n, n, round 

 ligaments; r, r, broad ligaments; s, s, Fallopian tubes; t, fimbriated extremity; u, 

 ostium abdominale ; the position of the ovaries is indicated through the broad ligaments, 

 and the cut edge of the peritoneum is shown along the side of the broad ligaments and 

 across the front of the uterus. 



The average dimensions of the utems are about three inches in length, 

 two in breadth at its upper and wider part, and nearly an inch in thick- 

 ness : its weight is from seven to twelve drachms. It is usually described 

 as possessing a fundus, body, and neck. 



The fundus is the broad upper end of the body, and projects convexly 

 upwards from between the points of attachment of the Fallopian tubes. 

 During gestation, its convexity is greatly increased, and it surrounds a 

 large part of the uterine cavity. The body gradually narrows as it 

 extends from the fundus to the neck ; its sides are straight ; its ante- 

 rior and posterior surfaces are both somewhat convex, but the latter more 

 so than the former. At the points of union of the sides with the rounded 

 superior border or fundus, are two projecting angles, with which the Fal- 

 lopian tubes are connected, the round ligaments being attached a little 

 before, and the ovarian ligaments behind and beneath them : these three 

 parts are all included in the duplicature of the broad ligaments. The 

 neck, or cervix uteri, narrower and more rounded than the rest of the organ, 

 is from six to eight lines long ; it is continuous above with the body, and, 

 becoming somewhat smaller towards its lower extremity, projects into the 

 upper end of the tube of the vagina, which is united all round with the 

 substance of the uterus, but extends upwards to a greater distance behind 

 than in front. The projecting portion is sometimes named the vaginal part. 

 The lower end of the uterus presents a transverse aperture, by which its 

 cavity opens into the vagina ; this is named variously as uteri, os uteri ex- 

 ternuniy and (from some supposed likeness to the mouth of the tench fish) 

 os tincce. It is bounded by two thick lips, the posterior of which is the 

 thinner and longer of the two, while the anterior, although projecting less 



