FEMALE EEPEODUCTIVE SYSTEM 341 



B. The Female Eabbit. 



1. The urinary system is the same as in the male, except 



that the ureters open into the bladder much further 

 forwards close to its anterior end. 



2. The reproductive system. 



Bemove the pelvic symphysis as in the male (p. 338) ; and 

 inflate the vagina and bladder with a blowpipe, inserted into 

 the vulva. Ligature the vestibule about an inch in front of 

 the vuVoa, to prevent the air escaping. 



a. The ovaries are a pair of oval bodies, of a pale 



yellowish colour, and about three-quarters of an 

 inch long, attached to the dorsal wall of the 

 abdomen, behind the kidneys and about an inch 

 in front of the crests of the ilia. 



On their surfaces the Graafian follicles, each 

 of which contains an ovum, are visible as small 

 rounded semi-transparent projections. 



b. The oviducts are formed from the pronephric duct^ 



of the embryo. Their anterior ends are nar- 

 row, and form the Fallopian tubes : the middle 

 portions are wider, and become the uteri, within 

 which the young are developed ; and the posterior 

 ends unite to form a median tube, the vagina. 



i. The Fallopian tubes are a pair of narrow, sKghtly 

 convoluted tubes, about the size of the ureters. 

 They he along the free edges of the broad 

 ligaments, a pair of folds of peritoneum sus- 

 pending them from the dorsal wall of the 

 abdomen. 



The anterior ends of the Fallopian tubes 

 form wide, membranous, funnel-shaped 

 mouths, lying along the outer sides of the 

 ovaries, and attached to their anterior ends. 



ii. The uteri, which are continuous with the pos- 

 terior ends of the Fallopian tubes, are a pair 

 of thick-walled tubes, which vary enormously 



