GENERATION. 



tnirked, is nearly white, and does not exhibit thofe fucceflive 

 fnadcs which, at a more advanced age, diltinguifh its orifice, 

 its middle, and its pofterior extrc.T.ityf In the newly born 

 child, and during the firft years of life, the uter'Q" does not 

 occupy the cavity of the pelvis : together with the ova- 

 ria and tubes, it is placed above the fuperior aperture. At 

 this time it is very fmall, and has a very different figure from 

 what it prcfents when pcrfe<flly developed. The nock is 

 larger and thicker than the body, which narrou-, and elon- 

 gated, has not the triangi^lar figure. The parietes of both 

 are thin, and the cavity very fmall. The tubes are propor- 

 tionate in length to tl-.eir future itate. 



From birth till puberty, the generative organs of women 

 experience ilill fewer changes than thofe of men : yet they 

 grow in proportion as the body cncreaies ; and thofe, which 

 at firfl were remarkable for their lize, as the clitoris and 

 nynipha?, gradually lole this diftinction. The uterus ap- 

 pears lefs elevated above the pubes, in proportion as the pelvis 

 changes its form and proportions, and as the fuperior aper- 

 ture becomes lefs inclined. It encreafes principally in breadth 

 and thicknefs, but its growth is not very rapid. The changes 

 which occur at the time of pubertv, confidered in an anato- 

 mical point of view, are not confiderable : there is a remark- 

 able revolution in the vital powers of the generative fyilem, 

 rather than any confiderable increafe of the organs. The 

 internal parts, however, at this time, have acquired their 

 complete fize, and the external organs become covered, in the 

 fituations already particularized, with hairs. 



In extreme old age, the generative organs of the female, 

 already reduced for a confiderable time to complete inaftion, 

 bear the marks of decrepitude common to the whole frame. 

 The vulva prefents the moll remarkable changes ; this is the 

 part mo!l affetled by the performance of the fexual func- 

 tions, and many parts of it partake the general emaciation. 

 The prominence of the mons veneris is nearly effaced, and a 

 great part of the hair, which covered it, is loll ; the remain- 

 der becoming grey and ilraight. The labia and nymphce 

 are foft and flaccid ; the latter loraetimes can icarcely be laid 

 to exift : the mucous membrane is whitifli, or at leaft very 

 pale in its colour. The flate of the vagina prefents nothing 

 very remarkable. The volume of the uterus is dirainilhed, 

 its parietes having become thinner. The tubes and round 

 ligaments are alfo in fome degree reduced. The ovaria do 

 not exceed half the fize which they had in the adult age ; 

 they are fometimes very denfe, and marked with deep 

 grooves, fo as to render the furface tubercular ; in other iiw-- 

 fiances, their fubllance is removed, fo that they are reduced 

 to a very thin appeai^ance. The veficles contained in their 

 parenchyma are no lunger difcernible. 



Stale of ihf Geiieral'inje Organs during Pregnancy. — The 

 uterus, intended to ferve as a receptacle for the foetus, di- 

 lates after it has received the germ from the ovary, and en- 

 larges in proportion as this is developed : its blood-veifels 

 bring an additional quantity of fluid, from which tlie fa'tus 

 draws its fupport : laflly, at a certain period, fixed by the 

 laws of nature, it difcharges the produce of conception by 

 virtue of the vital properties, with which it has been endow- 

 ed, during the remarkable change of its organization. Such 

 are the threefold objefts, to the attainment of which are 

 direfted the new difpofitions acquired by this organ during 

 geilation. 



The anatomy of the gravid uterus has been moft fully 

 tl'.icidated by Dr. William Hunter, whofe fplendid and beau- 

 tiful plates form an epocha in the hiftory of our knowledge 

 of this fubjeft. " T!ie anatomical Defcription of the human 

 gravid Uterus and its Contents," London, 4to. 1794, drawn 

 up by Dr. Bailhe, from the papers of Dr. Hunter, contains 

 Vol. XVI. 



a very clear account of the fubjeft ; this, with ihe plate* 

 already mentioned, is the fource from which the foUov/ing 

 defcription is prhicipally derived. The obfervations, unlefs 

 where it is otherwife exprelfed, apply to the flate of the 

 organ as it is found in the 9th month. 



CuiifiJerable variety exiits in the fize of the organ. Th'? 

 child and placenta may be twice as Isrgc "t One cafe as in 

 another : there may bi fix or eight times more water in one 

 cafe thai! in another : not to mention the diiftreiices arifinor 

 from there being only one child or twins, &c. 



The develope.T.ent of the uterus appears to be immediately- 

 produced by the general diilention of the liquid furrounding 

 tlie fcetus, and not by the foetus itfelf, fince the latter docs 

 not come in contaft with the orgRn. The fize cf the part 

 depends principally upon the quantity of the liquor amnii. 

 For, though women who have twins, or a very large child, " 

 are commonly obferved to be very big, yet the greateft num. 

 ber of thofe who are really very much fwellcd out, are fo 

 only from a ^'^il quantity of water. In fuch cafes tliere is 

 frequently but one child, and that very often a finall one. 



The general figure of the uterus is oviform ; the fundus 

 anfwering to the largeft extremity of the egg, and the cer- 

 vix and os uteri to the fmall end : but the fundus is larger and 

 more flat, <n- lefs pointed, in proportion to the lower extre- 

 mity of the uterus, tlian one end of an egg is to the other ; 

 and the whole uterus feems more or lefs comprefled, fo as to 

 be broader from right to left, tlxan it is from the forepart 

 backwards. Befides thefe niore conftant deviations, the fi- 

 gilre of the uterus diflers from the reguJar oviform, from a 

 variety of accidental caufes, as it adapts itfelf to the neigh- 

 bouring parts, to the attitude of the body, and to the pofi- 

 tion of the contained child. In order to conceive thefe va- 

 rieties more eafily, we mull remember that in moll cafes the 

 uterus is not fo completely filled as to be upon the full llretch. 

 AVere it out of the body, and filled artificially, it would eafily 

 contain more tiian it actually does. Thus the uterus, like 

 a bladder of water not quite full, is plaflie, and moulds itfelf 

 into various ihapes from accidental circumftances. The 

 figure of the organ, in particular fituations, is modified by 

 the prefTure of the furrounding parts : the brim of the bony 

 pelvis has the efteft of a belt girding the lower part of the 

 organ, and the projeftions of the fpine, and of the pfos muf- 

 cles and ihac veffels, mould the outfide of the uterus into cor- 

 refponding cavities. The attitude of the body influences 

 the figure of the uterus, as the parts againll Vi-hich it refls ■ 

 vary in different pollures. The pofition of the child is an- 

 other caufe influencing the figure of the uterus. Not onlv ia 

 dead bodies do we fee the parts of the child making various 

 diiferent projeftions on the outfide of the uterus ; but we 

 can frequently obferve the fame variety in the living flate, by 

 examining the outfide of the abdomen. The round project- 

 ing ball, made by the cliild's head or buttocks, is commonly 

 very perceptible, and in many inllances fmalier part-s, as th« 

 knees or elbows, can be dillincily felt. Dr. Mackenzie met 

 with a cafe of twins, where the uterus, inileadof making one 

 compafted oval body, had llretched into two dillinc\ bags, 

 for containing the reipcftive fcetufes ; fo that its outfide \s-as 

 marked by a notch, dividing it into two apartments, as deep 

 and dillintt in proportion, as that in the heart reprefented on 

 cards. Tlie organ often flretches unequally in the corre- 

 fpondlng oppofite part.s ; fo that cither the right or the left 

 half may be confiderablj- larger than the- other. It may 

 fwoU unequally on the front or back part, fo that the dif- 

 tance between the infertions of the Fallopian tubes may be 

 much fmalier either before or behind than in ihe oppofite di- 

 rections. In the unimpregnated Hate, it has commonly one 

 U-ianguhar cavity : but it is fometimes iubdivided, at its upper 



H part, 



