THE UTERUS 



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3. The Uterus 



The uterus (fig. 1031) is an unpaired organ, situated between the two layers of 

 the broad hgament and communicating above with the tubae uterinse and below 

 with the vagina. It is pyriform in outline, although flattened antero-posteriorly 

 (fig. 1032) and it is divided into two main portions, the body [corpus uteri] and the 

 cervix by a transverse constriction, the isthmus. 



The body is the portion above the isthmus and in adults, especially in women 



Fig. 1031. — The Posterior Surface of the Uterus. (After Sappey.) 



r!< — Tuba uterina 



Supra-vaginal cervix 



Vaginal cervix 



External orifice 

 Vaginal wall 



Edge of peritoneum 



Cervical attachment of vagina 



who have borne children, is much larger than the cervix, although the reverse is 

 the case in children. In young girls the two parts are about equal in size. The 

 anterior or vesical surface [facies vesicahs] is almost flat (fig. 1032), while the pos- 

 terior or intestinal surface [facies intestinalis] is distinctly convex, the two 

 surfaces meeting in well-marked rounded borders, at the upper extremities of 

 which the tubse uterinse are attached. The superior border which extends be- 

 tween the points of attachment of the two tubae is thick and rounded and forms 



Fig. 1032. — Sagittal Section of the Virgin Uterus. (After Sappey.) 



Fundus ^ 



Cavity of body 



Internal orifice 



Canal of cervix f 



Posterior fornix 

 Posterior lip 



Reflection of peritoneum 



Anterior lip 

 Anterior fornix 



External orifice 



what is termed the fundus uteri. The cavity [cavum uteri] of the body is reduced 

 to a fissure by the antero-posterior flattening of the walls and has a triangular form 

 (fig. 1033), broad above where it communicates on either side with the cavity of a 

 tuba uterina and narrow below where it communicates with the cavity of the 

 cervix, this communication, which corresponds in position with the isthmus, form- 

 ing what is known as the internal orifice [orificium internum] (internal os uteri). 

 The cervix is more cylindrical in form, though slightly expanded in the middle 



