644 ABDOMEN 



displaced during pregnancy, and it is doubtful if they ever 

 regain their original positions. In the nulliparous female 

 each ovary occupies. a peritoneal fossa on the back part of 

 the side-wall of the pelvis, below the external iliac vessels and 

 in front of the hypogastric vessels and the urete"r. This recess 

 is termed the fossa ovarica. The long axis of the ovary is 

 vertical. From its upper pole the suspensory ligament of the 

 ovary passes to the side-wall of the pelvis, and to the same 

 extremity the mouth of the uterine tube is attached by one 

 of its fimbriae ; from the latter connection the upper pole is 

 frequently called the tubal extremity (extremitas tubaria) of 

 the ovary. The lower, or uterine extremity (extremitas uterina\ 

 is connected with the lateral border of the uterus, immediately 

 below and posterior to the entrance of the uterine tube, by the 

 round cord-like ligament of the ovary, which lies in the medial 

 part of the mesovarium, and is a remnant of the gubernaculum 

 of the ovary. The anterior border is thinner and straighter 

 than the posterior border. It is commonly called the attached 

 border or hilus because it is connected to the back of the 

 broad ligament by the mesovarium, and through it the vessels 

 and nerves pass into and out of the ovary. r ^\\t posterior border 

 of the ovary is free, and looks backwards towards the ureter. 



In the natural position of the organs the uterine tube 

 encircles the greater part of the circumference of the ovary. 



On each surface of the ovary, close to the anterior border, a 

 white line marks the transition of the flat endothelial cells of the 

 peritoneum into the cubical epithelium of the surface of the 

 ovary. Before puberty the surface of the ovary is smooth ; 

 after that period it becomes scarred and puckered by the 

 cicatrices which mark the positions of the ruptured Graafian 

 or vesicular ovarian follicles from which ova have escaped. 



Epoophoron (O.T. Parovarium). This structure is of 

 interest because it represents the coni vasculosi and part 

 of the epididymis of the testis of the male. It will be found 

 by stretching the broad ligament, holding it to the light, and 

 examining the lateral part between the ovary and the uterine 

 tube. It lies between the layers of the broad ligament, and 

 consists of a horizontal tubule and a series of vertical tubules. 

 The vertical tubules radiate from the region of the hilus of 

 the ovary to the horizontal tubule, in which they terminate. 

 The horizontal tubule lies about midway between the ovary 

 and the uterine tube, and runs parallel with the latter. 



