THE OVARIES. 



251 



they distribute cortical branches at regular intervals. In their course towards 

 the periphery the cortical branches supply hundreds of follicular twigs to 

 the egg-sacs, each of the latter being provided with a rich vascular network 



.^^><-,-,*v 



Blood-vessel 



Connective- Iv.'.'.-?'?^ 

 tissue stroma 



Muscle 





-f* Ra,W ^ > '- *Vdl 



^^^i^!r' 



FIG. 301. Section of medulla of ovary, showing numerous blood-vessels and fibro-muscular 



stroma. X 75- 



that anastomoses with two or more follicular "twigs. At the periphery of the 

 organ, the blood within the cortical arterioles reaches the veins through an 

 intervening capillary network. The veins follow the general arrangement of 

 the arteries in the cortex and medulla; 

 the pairs of parallel veins, however, 

 do not unite into single stems, but 

 emerge from the hilum as independent 

 trunks. 



The lymphatics begin in the 

 cortex as networks of spaces within 

 the thecse surrounding the enlarging 

 follicles. From these radicles the 

 larger and irregular channels enter the 

 medulla, where they form converging 

 stems that follow the blood-vessels and 

 leave the hilum as 7-9 trunks. 



The nerves supplying the ovary 

 are from the sympathetic plexus sur- 

 rounding the ovarian artery and are 

 composed, for the most part, of non- 

 medullated fibres. They accompany 

 the arteries through the hilum into 

 the ovary and are distributed chiefly to the walls of the blood-vessels, around 

 the larger of which the terminal plexuses are formed. From the fairly close 

 cortical plexus twigs pass to the larger follicles, the ultimate relation between 



Arteria propria 



Ovarian artery 



Ovarian 

 veins 



FIG. 302. Diagram illustrating arrangement of 

 ovarian blood-vessels, (dark.) 



