22 Veterinary Obstetrics 



to the abdominal wall at or near the point of origin of the ovary 

 just behind the kidney ; in the cow, where the ovary and the an- 

 terior end of the uterine cornua are turned backwards to the im- 

 mediate vicinity of the internal inguinal ring, the attachment of 

 the anterior border of the ligament likewise moves backwards for 

 a considerable distance so that the middle of the recurved cornu 

 tends to project anteriorly beyond the anterior margin of the 

 ligamentous attachment even when non- gravid. When the 

 uterus of a quadrupedal mammal becomes gravid the weight of 

 the fetus drags the occupied portion downwards and forwards 

 until the organ comes to rest upon the abdominal floor, in front 

 of the anterior point of fixation of the ligament to the abdominal 

 wall. Since the anterior attachment of the broad ligament is 

 more posteriorly situated in ruminants than in other domestic 

 animals, it tends to favor the revolving of the gravid uterus on its 

 long axis in front of the anterior attachment. This disposition 

 attains an important clinical significance in the study of uterine 

 torsion (which see) in which it is observed that the tendencj!^ to 

 torsion increases as the anterior extension of the attachments of 

 the broad ligaments to the abdominal walls recedes. 



The genital tube is further maintained in its position by its at- 

 tachment posteriorly to the' vulva and also by the round ligament 

 of the uterus, which we have already described on page i8. 



3. The Oviducts. 



The oviducts, formed from the anterior or ovarian extremities 

 of the Muellerian ducts, are two long, tortuous tubes, varying in 

 length and other characters according to species. Their length 

 is several times the distance from the anterior extremity of the 

 uterine cornu to the ovary, thus throwing it into folds. The 

 distance between the anterior extremity of the cornu and the 

 ovary is fixed by the utero-ovarian ligament and not by the ovi- 

 duct. In some animals the oviducts are naked and clearly visible 

 while, in the bitch, they are hidden in the fat of the broad liga- 

 ment and the utero-ovarian ligament is very short so that the 

 anterior end of the uterine cornu is virtually in contact with 

 the ovary while the oviduct, some 3 ,to 4 inches in length, is 

 thrown into numerous folds to terminate about J^ inch from its 

 uterine end, so that casual observation, without dissection, might 

 lead to the assumption that the Fallopian tube was well-nigh 



