STRUCTURE OF THE OVARY VESSELS, NERVES. 171 



wide a distribution in the ovarial stroma as is admitted by His, Aeby, 

 and Klebs. M. v. Winiwater (126) has recently subjected the cortical 

 layer to a careful histological and histochemical analysis, but has been 

 unable to demonstrate the presence in it of any smooth muscular 

 tissue. Lastly, the smooth muscular fibres of the hilus of the ovary 

 proceed from fasciculi that enter into the hilus of the organ from the 

 ligamentum ovarii, and from the ligamentum latum, on which 

 point the reader may refer to the statements of Grohe (49) and 

 Luschka (72). 



I have already alluded to the extraordinary vascularity of 

 the ovary; the hilus ovarii contains a convoluted mass of 

 large veins, which, when strongly injected, form a kind of 

 vascular bulb, the ovarian bulb of Rouget (99). The arteries 

 pursue the same corkscrew-like course that is characteristic of 

 the larger trunks given off by the arteria spermatica interna 

 and the arteria uterina. The richest capillary plexus, closely 

 resembling the membrana Ruyschiana of the choroid, is found 

 in the inner membrane of the follicle, and has been minutely 

 described by M. His (53). It is not difficult to bring this very 

 beautifully into view under the microscope, in a state of natural 

 distension, by spreading out the wall of a small follicle whilst 

 still fresh, but moistened with iodine-serum. According to the 

 statements of His (52), lymphatics are found in the hilus 

 ovarii; moreover wide sac-like lymphatics are here found, 

 which invest the follicle and yellow body like a shell, and are 

 the cause of the easy isolability of these structures ; and all 

 these spaces may be injected by simply plunging the injecting 

 syringe into the tissues. 



No precise description of the course of the nerves of the 

 ovary can be at present given. Recently, in the ovaries of the 

 Rabbit that were in the first instance frozen, and then subjected 

 in the form of rine sections to maceration in chloride of gold, I 

 have been able to follow delicate nerve fibres, provided only 

 with a very thin medullary sheath, as far as to the spaces 

 between the larger follicles ; but I have not as yet been able to 

 ascertain their mode of termination. 



The disposition of the Graafian follicles in the ovary is not 

 the same at all periods of life, nor in the different species of 

 Mammals ; we shall return hereafter to the consideration of the 



