OF THE FOETUS. 317 



.ther ; but that tUofe of the female are not per- 

 ceptible till four months. Some women, how- 

 ever, affirm that they have felt the motions of 

 the foetus at the beginning of the fecond month. 

 It is difficult to acquire any certain knowledge 

 on this fubjecl: The fenfations excited by the 

 firft movements of the foetus depend more, per- 

 haps, on the fenfibility of the mother, than the 

 llrength of the child. 



Four months and a half after conception, the 

 leneth of the foetus is from fix to i'tvcn inches. 

 All the parts are greatly augmented, and eafily 

 diftinguiiliable from each other : Even the nails 

 appear on the fingers and toes. The tefticles of 

 the male are ffiut up in the belly above the kid- 

 neys. The ftomach is filled with a thick fluid, 

 fimilar to that which is contained in the amnios. 

 In the fmall guts we find a milky fluid, and a 

 black liquid matter in the great guts. There [j 

 2l fmall quantity of bile in the vefica fellis, and 

 a little urine in the bladder. As the foetus 

 floats freely in the fluid that furrounds it, there 

 is always fome fpace beween its body and the 

 membranes in which it is contained. Thefe 

 membranes, at flrR, grow more rapidly than the 

 foetus ; but, after a certain time, the reverfe 

 takes place. Before the end of the third month, 

 the head is bent forward ; the chin refls on the 

 breafl: ; the knees are^ elevated, and the legs 

 folded back upon the thighs. One of the hands, 

 and often both, touch the face. Afterwards, 



when 



