576 



COMPARATIVE SPLANCHNOLOGY. 



Female Organs. 



In the female ruminant the ovaries are comparatively small. The uterus 

 presents generally the typical arrangement ; its comua are slightly twisted, 

 and the ligaments are large ; the fundus is short and narrow. 



The mucous membrane of the uterus presents a number of rounded vascular 

 processes, which exhibit eminences and depressions; these are termed the 

 mxiUmal cotyledons, and their function is a fcetal one. During gestation the 

 lateral walls of the vagina are transversed by a mucous canal, which opens 

 into the vulva on either side of the meatus urinarius ; these are the canals 

 of Gartner, but their use is unknown ; they are not found in the smaller 

 ruminants. 



The labia of the vulva are thick ; its inferior commissure is narrow and fur- 

 nished with a few hairs. Inside the vulval cavity we have to note the. 



Ficr. 137. 



Longitudinal vertical section through the vagina and bladder of a cow. 

 o, Vagina ; 6, Vulva ; c, Openings of Gartner's canals ; d. Bladder ; c, Urethra ; 

 /, Urethral diverticulum ; g. Clitoris and fossa navicularis ; h h' k, Constrictors ; 

 i i, Constrictor vaginae. 



peculiar vulva-vaginal glands ; also a small blind cavity or diverticulum in 

 the wall of the urethra, covered by a fold of mucous membrane. 



The mammary glands constitute an organ termed the udder, which is com- 

 posed of two symmetrical halves, placed one against the other. Each half is 

 again divided into two distinct glands, each with its own teat, so that the 

 Tidder consists of four mammae and four teats ; behind this there may be 

 two small rudimentary teats. In the centre of each quarter, just at the base 

 of the teat, is a large galactopherous sinus, the general receptacle of all the 

 lactiferous conduits. From this sinus, which is sometimes large enough 

 to contain a quart, proceeds down the centre of the teat one definite excretory 

 canaL 



In the small ruminants there are two mammaB and two teats, constructed 

 like those of the cow. 



