82 THE PHYSIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION 



sangiiineo-serous exudate infiltrates into the stroma. The 

 enlargement of the vessels continues, but does not become very 

 pronounced until shortly before the stage of destruction which 

 may be said to mark the beginning of menstruation proper. 



Lipes also describes an increase in the size of the glands of 

 the mucous membrane, which he supposes to be due to the 

 collection of the secretion of the gland-cells. This mucus-like 



Fig. 7. — Section through mucosa of human uterus showing pre-menstrual 

 congestion. (From Sellheim.) 



product of the gland-cells is said to give them a distinctly 



granular appearance. " The gland-cells become uniformly 



swollen and take stains more evenly, and their nuclei are more 



widely separated as a result of the increase in the volume of the 



protoplasm, and are uniformly more round in comparison with 



the oval nuclei, which are seen in the regeneration period." 



Westphalen ^ has pointed out that the nuclei, which are situated 



near the base of the cell as a rule, appear in the middle of the 



cell at the beginning of the stage of pre-menstrual swelhng. 



• Westphalen, " Zur Physiologie des Menstruation," Arch. f. Qynak., vol. 

 lii., 189r.. 



