GENERATION. 



Iiave a jagged cdj^e, aiul are mixed with verrucx and other 

 Icfs prominent lamina; in various dirertion?. Fjclwccn the 

 Jtwo cohimns is a reticulated furface, formed from the tranf- 

 vcrfe producUons. The iil'e of this ilrm'tnre does not feem 

 very obvious. It may poflibly facilitate the dilatation of the 

 ort^an. " Voluptatcm et atcritum augeiv crederes, nifi in 

 uteri ccrvice fimilcs valvula; redirent. Arftant tamen cmi- 

 nendo vaginam ; et inferior coliimna parti glandis frenulo 

 vicina occurrit. Scniilem vaginam etiam facere credas, 

 qua; ob has valvulas et ipfa r.iagis eonfrieetur. Infcnfdem 

 tamen fuifle lego." Hallcr, Elem. Pliyfiol. lib. 28. 



All tiie generative apparatus abounds with mucus, and 

 thismoilUiro is obvioufly convenient in many of the funcWons 

 of the part. In the fcctus it appears as a whitifh milky 

 kind of fluid ; and it is a true mucus in the adult. The 

 tluor abas and gonorrhcea feem to be merely a difealed Hate 

 of this fecrction. Round livid fpots are frequently obfcrvcd 

 on tile fmooth part of the vagina, near the uterus ; their 

 caufe and nature are unknown. Numerous pores are ob- 

 fcrvable among the folds and rugae of the vagina. Eufta- 

 chius noticed iinufes in the membrane ; /'. e. tolerably large 

 flits, fometimes ramitied, and containing mucus. No glands 

 eau be difcovered in the organ. 



The funerior extremity of tlie vagina is united to the in- 

 ferior part of the neck of the uterus. It embraces the lat- 

 ter oro;an obliquely, fo that the anterior furface of the 

 vagina is nearer to the os uteri, and the pofterior is more re- 

 mote from it ; and the v;icuity between the vagina and the 

 neck of the uterus extends higher behind than before. The 

 inferior extremity occupies the lower and pofterior portion 

 of the vulva, in front of the anus, and ends there by the 

 orifice which we have already defcribed. The lides of the 

 vagina poflefs confiderable thicknefs and ftrength. The 

 upper half of its pofterior furface is covered by peritoneum. 

 The chief fnbftance of the canal is a thick, clofe, and firm 

 texture of a greyilh colour, polfefling large vefTels, and 

 having fibres in various diretlions, fo as to give it fomewhat 

 of a mufcular appearance. It appears to be continuous 

 above with the fubftance of the uterus. Below it is fur- 

 rounded by a kind of corpus cavernofuin, of about an inch 

 in breadtli, and two lines in thicknefs, compofed apparently 

 of veins, and called the plexus retiforrais. A dcterniinatiou 

 takes place to this part at the time of copulation, and it 

 experiences a kind of fwclling analogous to ereftuin. On the 

 ivhole, tl'.e membrane of tlie vagina is not fo thick, as the 

 diftention which it experiences in parturition might lead us 

 to expeft. Excepting wliere it is covered by the perito- 

 neum, and by the plexus retiformis, the furface is furroundcd 

 by a copious cellular fubftance, containing many vafcular 

 lamiiications. 



The vital properties of the fides of the vagina are not well 

 ■underftood. Some afcrlbe to it a contradtile power, exercifed, 

 as it is faidj in coition, and felt by the hand when introduced 

 iu the procelfes of midwifery. The plienomena of parturi- 

 tion (licw that it pofTeffes in a high degree the powers of cx- 

 tenfion and fubfequent contraction. 



The infernal furface of t!ie canal is lined by a mucous 

 momlirane, to which the peculiar tifllie of the vagina already 

 mentioned adheres ven.' dofely. It is continuous with the 

 membrane of tlie vulva ; and, after lining tlie vagina, is ex- 

 tended over that portion of the cervix uteri, which projefts 

 into the can.al, and communicates, at the or. tincse, with tlie 

 lining of the uterus. This mucous lining forms all the ine- 

 qualities already defcribed ; it is thicker near the vulva, and 

 grows manifeftly thinner towards the uterus. At the en- 

 trance of the canal it has a red colour, which changes 

 farther into a grey or whitifli call, divei-fificd near the cervix 



uteri by the livid fpots already mentioned, whicli give it a 

 marbled appearance. The almoft cartilaginous hardncfs ol' 

 the :nembrane in fome parts is peculiar to tne vagina, as well 

 as the permanent tolds in its ftrufture ; in other mucous mem- 

 branes the inequalities are occafioned by fome external caufe, 

 and difappear by extenfion. Some anatomifts afcribe an 

 epidermis to the vagina ; but this point is doubtful. The 

 organs, by which its mucous fluid is fecreted, have been 

 already mentioned. 



The place of the accelerator urina; of the male fubjeft is 

 occupied in th.e female by the J'phiriffer va^'nis, which covers- 

 the plexus rctiformls. It deicends on each fide from the 

 body of the clitoris, behind the ereftor ; furrounds the an- 

 terior extremity of the vagina, immediately behind the la- 

 bium, where it poffefics confidcrable breadth, and terminates 

 below, on each fide, in the lateral fibres of the fphinfter ani. 

 It muft have the power of contrafting the front orifice of the 

 vagina. 



The arteries of the vagina come from the internal iliac ; 

 its V ins join the venous plexus, wiiich furrounds the canal. 

 The lymphatics are not well known ; the nerves come from 

 the facral trunks. 



The uterus is the organ in which the fcetus and its coverings 

 are contained until the time of parturition. It is almoll 

 always fiiigle ; in fome rare cafes there have been two uteri. 

 There is loine variety in thefe iuftances ; either there may be 

 two uteri and two vagince ; or a fingle vagina divided by a 

 feptuni in its whole length, or only in its upper half; or one 

 of the uteri may open into the reitum, and the other into 

 the vagina. In fome cafes the uterus is divided internally 

 by a longitudinal feptum, either confined to the neck, or 

 prolonged to the orifice of the vagina. Sometimes the uterus 

 is altogether deficient. A vaft number of references to au- 

 thors who have related examples of all the above-mentioned 

 unufual form.ations may be feen in Voigtel's Pathologifchc 

 Anatomic, b. iii. p. 452 — 456. 



This. organ is fituated in the pelvis, behind the urinarv 

 bladdtf, before the reftum, below the convolutions of the 

 ilium, and above the vagina. Its fituation is oblique, tiu 

 fundus being placed upwards and rather backwards, the 

 neck downwards, and ilightly inclined forwards. Two 

 broad folds of peritoneum, named the li^'amenta lata uteri,, 

 fix it to tlie fide of the pelvis. Other ligaments aflift in- 

 maintaining this vifcus in its fituation ; viz. the round, the 

 anterior, and the pofterior ligaments. 



The broad ligaments extend from the fides of the uterus 

 to the fides of the containing cavity. Together with the 

 uterus they form a complete tranfverfe partition, divldin"- 

 the pelvis into an anterior and a pofterior cavity, of whicli 

 the former and fmalk-ft contains the urinary bladder, the 

 latter and largeft, the reftuni. Thefe ligaments are flat- 

 tened from before backwards and quadrilateral. Their two 

 furfaces are fmooth, and unattached ; tlie anterior beiii"- 

 turned direftly forwards, towards the bladder, the pofterior 

 direftly backwards, towards the reftum. The upper edge Is 

 divided into two prominent lines ; of which the anterior and 

 higheft contains the Fallopian tube, the pofterior, the ovarv 

 and its ligam.ent. The three other margins are adherent ; 

 the inferior, to the lower part of the pelvis ; the external, to 

 the fide of the cavity ; and the internal to the lateral margin 

 ot the uterus. Thefe ligaments are formed by two layers of 

 peritoneum, between which are placed the veifels and nerves 

 of the uterus, the ovaria and their ligaments, tlie Fallopian 

 tubes, and fome cellular fubftance. They fix the uterus in 

 its fituation, and give it a covering, in proportion as It in- 

 creafes in fize during pregnancy ; they confequently become 

 much narrower at the time ; in the latter months, indeed, 



they 



