THE UTEKUS 



421 



the crypt-like ducts is usually ciliated, like that of the surface, 

 but in the secreting portions it consists of tall, clear, columnar 

 cells which are in various stages of secretory activity, their product 

 being a viscid glairy mucus, 

 strings and granules of which 

 are found within the lumen of 

 the glands, as well as within 

 the canal of the cervix uteri. 



The uterine cavity is a rela- 

 tive term. In the virgin, the 

 mucosa is considerably folded 

 and its surfaces are almost in 

 apposition, being only sepa- 

 rated by a very limited amount 

 of desquamated epithelium 

 and cellular debris, to which, 

 in the canal of the cervix uteri, 

 the mucous secretion is added. 

 During pregnancy, the devel- 

 opment of the fetus within 

 the uterine cavity distends its 

 walls and so dilates the canal 

 that it at last forms a sac of 

 sufficient size to contain the 

 fetus, which floats within the 

 amniotic fluid inclosed by its 

 membranes. 



The blood vessels of the 

 uterus enter through the folds 

 of the lateral ligament and find 

 their way, through the subepi- 

 thelial connective tissue of the serous coat and the muscular wall, 

 to all portions of the organ. In the vascular layer of the muscular 

 coat they form an extensive plexus from which branches are dis- 

 tributed to the musculature and to the mucosa, the branches to 

 the latter penetrating nearly to the surface, where they form rich, 

 subepithelial, capillary and venous plexuses. The uterine arteries, 

 like those of the ovary, possess a peculiar, spirally tortuous course. 

 The veins accompany the arteries, but are less tortuous. 



The lymphatics of the uterus arise by anastomosing channels 

 in the mucous and muscular coats. They form a vascular plexus 



FlO. 341. A. GLAND OF THE HUMAN CERVIX 

 UTERI IN LONGITUDINAL SECTION. 



x 90. (After Williams.) 



