THE FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 



THE reproductive organs of the female include two groups, the internal 

 and the external organs. The internal organs are: the sexual glands, the 

 ovaries, which produce the ova; the oviducts or Fallopian tubes, the canals 

 conveying the ova after these are liberated from the ovaries; the uterus and 

 the vagina, the passage which embraces the lower end of the uterus above 

 and ends below within the genital cleft. The oviducts, uterus and vagina 

 represent the excretory canals of the sexual glands which in the embryo, as 

 the Miillerian ducts, for a time are separate. After fusion of their lower seg- 

 ments has taken place, the unpaired canal thus formed becomes the vagina 

 and the uterus, the latter being a specialized segment for the reception and 

 retention of the fertilized ovum during gestation. The external organs, 

 termed collectively the vulva (pudendum muliebre) include: the clitoris, the 

 labia and the thereby enclosed vestibule and vaginal orifice, and the glands 

 of Bartholin. Although morphologically belonging to the integument, the 

 mammary glands may be conveniently regarded as appendages to the repro- 

 ductive organs. 



THE OVARIES. 



The ovary, one on either side of the body, is the sexual gland proper, 

 within and from which are developed and liberated the mature maternal 

 germ-cells, the ova. It is a solid body, resembling in form a large almond, 

 and in the adult lies against or near the lateral pelvic wall invested by modified 

 peritoneum continued from the posterior surface of the broad ligament of the 

 uterus. That portion of the attached anterior border through which the 

 vessels and nerves enter and emerge is known as the hilum. The surfaces of 

 the mature ovary are not even, as in early life, but modelled by rounded ele- 

 vations of uncertain size and number and by irregular pits and scars. The 

 elevations are due to the underlying egg-follicles in different stages of growth, 

 while the scar-like areas indicate the position of corpora lutea which replace the 

 ruptured egg-follicles. The average dimensions of the adult ovary are: 36 

 mm. in length, 18 mm. in breadth and 1 2 mm. in thickness. After cessation of 

 menstruation, about the forty-fifth year, the ovary decreases in size and weight, 

 in old women being reduced to one half or less of its normal proportions. 



The ovary consists of two principal divisions: the cortex (zona parenchy- 

 matosa), a narrow peripheral zone, from 2-3 mm. thick, that forms the 

 superficial part of the organ; and the medulla (zona vasculosa), that embraces 

 the deeper and more central remaining portion of its substance. The cortex 

 alone contains the characteristic Graafian or egg-follicles and the ova, while 

 the medulla is distinguished by the number and size of the blood-vessels, 

 especially the veins. 



The Cortex. Seen in sections of the functioning organ, the cortex 

 appears to consist chiefly of the compact ovarian stroma, a modified connec- 

 tive tissue composed of spindle-shaped cells and fibrous tissue. The stroma- 

 cells are arranged in bundles extending in all directions and, hence, are seen 

 cut in different planes. Immediately beneath the modified mesothelium, the 

 so-called germinal epithelium, that covers the free surface, the stroma is dis- 

 posed with greater regularity and forms a narrow compact superficial stratum, 

 the tunica albuginea, in which the ova are absent. Within the subjacent 

 and looser stroma lie the most characteristic components of the cortex, the 

 Graajian or egg -follicles, that represent what has been called the ' ' gland-sub- 



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