PERITONEAL RELATIONS OF THE MAMMALIAN OVARY. 39 



in Brady pus Iridactylus* in Globiocephalus melas,j and Rhinoceros 

 indicuSjl &c, &c. 



The way in which the orifice of the sac becomes still further 

 diminished in extent has not, so far as I am aware, been described, 

 though the sacs have been mentioned explicitly by Owen, who 

 describes a very complete sac in the case of the white bear. 

 The steps of the process appear to be the following : — As the sac 

 increases in relative size, from growth of its walls, the edge of the 

 orifice of the sac, in which the oviduct opens, overlaps the ovary, 

 and finally conceals it. When this growth of the sac, and conse- 

 quent change of position of its orifice has taken place, the ovary is 

 suspended from the broad ligament, and lies within a peritoneal 

 capsule, the only opening of which is situated on the mesial side of 

 the ovary, along its line of attachment to the inner face of the broad 

 ligament, and now the orifice of the Fallopian tube lies along the 

 inner margin of the opening of the sac. 



The further closure of the pouch is brought about by the attach- 

 ment of the edge of the orifice of the oviduct to the inner side of 

 the ovary along the white line. The adherence takes place from 

 before backward ; a very peculiar appearance is the result. If the 

 Fallopian tube is traced from the end of the cornu uteri, it is seen to 

 extend along the outer side of the ovary to its anterior extremity ; 

 at this point it turns back, and, running along the inner side, termi- 

 nates at a minute orifice situated between the posterior extremity of 

 the ovary and the tip of the cornu uteri. 



The minute orifice opening into the peritoneal cavity does not 

 by any means form the whole of the abdominal termination of the 

 oviduct, but only that portion of it which still remains unattached 

 either to the ovary or to the opposite edge of the capsule. The 

 greater part of the abdominal termination of the Fallopian tube is 

 enclosed in the ovarian capsule, the formation of which has already 

 been described.§ 



* Owen, loc. cit., vol. iii., p. 690. 



t Murie, Trans. Zool. Soc, vol. viii. 



I Owen, loc. cit., vol. iii., p. 693. 



§ Between thia almost complete closure of the sac and the slit-like opening found 

 in the porcupine and guinea pig, intermediate stages are presented by the bitch and 

 the wolf. 



