THE OVIDUCT 411 



into numerous branches which pursue a peculiar spiral or cork- 

 screw course through the stroma of the medulla, and finally enter 

 the cortex. They possess thick muscular walls containing bundles 

 of longitudinal smooth muscle fibres. In the cortex they supply 

 capillaries to the stroma, and in the theca folliculi of the Graafian 

 follicles they form rich plexuses of broad capillaries and thin-walled 

 venules. As the follicle approaches maturity these plexuses 

 become enormously developed and apparently bear an important 

 relation to the rupture of the follicle and the rapid development 

 of the corpus luteum (Clark*). The veins, which take origin 

 from the venules of these capillary plexuses, converge toward the 

 medulla, where they form a plexus of large thin-walled vessels, 

 the plexus venosus ovarii or pampiniform plexus, which is im- 

 bedded in the connective tissue of the medulla, the mesovarium, 

 and the adjacent portions of the broad ligament. 



The lymphatics arise in the cortical stroma by anastomosing 

 canals and capillaries of irregular caliber, which are especially 

 abundant in the walls of the Graafian follicles. These vessels con- 

 verge toward the medulla, where they enter lymphatics which are 

 supplied with valves, and find their way to the lymphatic nodes of 

 the pelvic and lumbar regions. 



The nerves are chiefly derived from the ovarian plexus. They 

 enter the hilum and are distributed to the walls of the blood 

 vessels, and to the stroma of the ovary ; here they form a rich ter- 

 minal plexus in the walls of the follicles. Whether or not the 

 naked fibrils are distributed to the epithelial cells within the 

 follicle has not been satisfactorily determined, 



THE OVIDUCT 



The oviduct or Fallopian tube is a narrow duct leading from 

 the ovary to the cavity of the uterus. It consists of a broad, 

 funnel-shaped, fringed or fimbriated extremity, a constricted neck, 

 an intermediate ampulla of considerable diameter, and a slender 

 isthmus by which the oviduct communicates with the uterine 

 cavity. 



Throughout the entire tube its wall consists of three coats mu- 

 cous, muscular and serous but the character of its mucous mem- 

 brane differs somewhat in its several portions. In the isthmus it 

 is relatively smooth and usually presents four longitudinal ridges 

 which have few secondary or accessory folds ; in the ampulla the 



* Contributions to Sc. of Med,, 1900. 



