774 GENERATION. 



deed, no proper submucous, areolar tissue, the membrane being applied di- 

 rectly to the uterine walls. It is covered by a single layer of cylindrical epi- 

 thelial cells, with delicate cilia, the movements of which are from without 

 inward, toward the openings of the Fallopian tubes. Examination of the 

 surface of the membrane with a low magnifying power shows the open- 

 ings of a great number of tubular glands. These glands usually are sim- 

 ple, sometimes branched, dividing, about midway between the opening and 

 the lower extremity, into two and very rarely into three secondary tubules. 

 Their course generally is tortuous, so that their length frequently exceeds 

 the thickness of the mucous membrane. The openings of these tubes are 

 about -j^j- of an inch (72 //,) in diameter. Their secretion, which forms a 

 thin layer of mucus on the surface of the membrane in health, is grayish, 

 viscid and feebly alkaline. The tubes themselves have very thin, structure- 

 less walls and are lined with cylindrical, ciliated epithelial cells. 



The changes which the mucous membrane of the body of the uterus 

 undergoes during menstruation are remarkable. Under ordinary conditions 

 its thickness is -fa to ^ of an inch (1 to 1-8 mm.) ; but it measures during 

 the menstrual period to \ of an inch (4-2 to 6'4 mm.). 



In the cervix the membrane is paler, firmer and thicker than the mem- 

 brane of the body of the uterus, and between these two mucous surfaces 

 there is a distinct line of demarkation. It is more loosely attached to the 

 subjacent tissue, in the cervix, and the anterior and posterior surfaces of 

 the neck present an appearance of folds radiating from the median line, 

 forming what has been called the arbor vitae uteri, or plicae palmata?. 

 Throughout the entire cervical membrane, are mucous glands, and in addi- 

 tion, in the lower portion, are a few rounded, semi-transparent, closed folli- 

 cles, called the ovules of Naboth, which are cystic enlargements of obstructed 

 follicles. The upper half of the cervical membrane is smooth but the lower 

 half presents a large number of villi. The epithelium of the cervix presents 

 great variations in its character in different individuals. Before the time of 

 puberty the entire membrane of the cervix is covered with ciliated epithe- 

 lium. After puberty, however, the epithelium of the lower portion changes 

 its character, and there are cylindrical cells above, with squamous cells in 

 the inferior portion. The latter extend upward in the neck, to a variable 

 distance. 



The blood-vessels of the uterus are very large and present certain impor- 

 tant peculiarities in their arrangement. The uterine arteries pass between 

 the layers of the broad ligament, to the neck, and then ascend by the sides 

 of the uterus, presenting a rich plexus of vessels, anastomosing above with 

 branches from the ovarian arteries, sending branches over the body of the 

 uterus, and finally penetrating the organ, to be distributed mainly in the 

 middle layer of muscular fibres. In their course these vessels present a con- 

 voluted arrangement and form a sort of mould of the body of the uterus. 

 Rouget has called this the erectile tissue of the internal generative organs. 

 It lacks, however, certain of the characters of true, erectile tissue. By 

 placing the pelvis in a bath of warm water and injecting what he called the 



