GENERATION. 



haling vcfTi-ls, but after conception a largo number of confi- 

 dcr.ible arteries and veius pafo from it to tlie furface of the 

 ovum ; and thefe are more numerous and large in the lltua- 

 tion of the placenta than elfewhcre. Thefe communicating 

 veffels liave been deferibcd already in the article Embrvo. 

 Towards the latter periods of gellatioii the vulva becomes 

 fwoln and relaxed, atfuming aftate which favours its dilata- 

 tion in the aft of partin-ition. 



The vital properties of]ithe uterus, as well as its organiza- 

 tion, are confiderahlv altered after conception. The organ 

 acquires animal fenfibility ; hence women feel the motions 

 of the child, and even experience very confiderable pain in 

 particular pofitions of the fcetils ; hence too the fharp pains 

 felt in partiyition. We do not know whether much pain is 

 experienced by the incifion of the utei-us in the ca'farean 

 feclion. But, fuppofmg that it is not, the faft -would not 

 prove that the organ is not pofTeifed of animal fenfibility. 

 Its pov-ers may render it fufceptible of fome ftimuli and not 

 of others. When no circumitancea interrupt the ordinary 

 phenomena of pregnancy, we have no proof, until the natural 

 period of this condition arrives, that the organ pofFcfTes fo 

 ilrong a contraftile power as that which we fee exerted in 

 parturition. We might even believe that this property is not 



the term of geflation, and for which we can afllgn no other 

 caufe than the immulabk- laws by which the operations of 

 nature are regulated. However this queftion may be decided, 

 it is Clear that the contraction of the uterus alone does not 

 accomplifli the expuliion of the fetus. The diaphragm and 

 abdominal mufclcs afilll in tlie opr^ation ; and hence parturi- 

 tion is iji fome degree voluntary, is accelerated in fome cafes 

 by the courage of the individual, while in others it c-annot 

 be concluded without the adiftance of art, in conftquence of 

 the ftrengtli being exhaufied. Yet this aftion of the abdo- 

 minal mufcles is not fo indilpenfdilc, but that the uterus can 

 get rid of its contents without fuel', aid. We know the ex- 

 traordinary facihty with which parturition takes place in 

 fame women, who, in confequence of particular circum- 

 ftances in th.eir condition, exert themfelves even to retard the 

 procefs ; and the expulfion of the child is fometimes com- 

 pleted at the approach of death, when the abdominal muf- 

 cles can hardly be fuppofed to contribute. 



After the expulfion of the child, and of the fccundines, 

 the action of the uterus ftill continues, and the organ is gra- 

 dually reduced in its bulk. Fur a (hort time its parietes 

 are in a ftate of increafed thicknefs ; the vefitls, being com- 

 preffed by this pcnnanent ftate of contraction, pour out but 



developed until the end of pregnancy ; but there is no cpocha a very fmall quantity of blood, notwithftanding the preceding 

 of geflation, from the firtt prefencc of tlie germ in the ute- dilatation of tlitir oriiices. This blood, cffufed very llowly, 



" ' " is foon "fucceeded by an abundant fecretion of mucus from 

 the furface of the uterus, conftituting a fpecies of difcharge 

 peculiar to Vi-omen recently deliveredj and known by the 

 name of lochia. This evacuation lafts for a longer or fhorter 

 time, and probably does not ceafe altogether, until the 

 uterus has regained its original ftate. The contraction of 

 the organ is owing at tirft to the evacuation and contraftiou 

 of its veffels ; but foon nutrition is carried on in it with lefs 

 aftivity, while abforption proceeds vigoroufly until the 

 excefs of matter depofited for its developcment has been re- 

 moved. 



rus, at which this contraftion may not be excited by the 

 aftion of particular caufes, which, under certain circum- 

 ftances, are powerful enough to produce the expuliion of the 

 child. Violent contufions of the abdomen, and penetrating 

 wounds affefting the uterus, are frequently followed by 

 abortion. Violent pafllon may caufe this premature expulfion 

 of the foetus. The fame eifeCl is produced by the evacuation 

 of the waters of the amnios, independently of any other 

 caufe ; the uterus, when no longer diftended, contrafts, 

 and abortion enfues. This contradtile power, with which 

 the uterus becomes endowed on the change of its organiza- 

 tion, partakes of the characlers of animal contraftility and 

 of irritability. The inactivity of the uterine parietes, until 

 the termination of utero-geftation, refembles, in fome re- 

 fpefts, the quiefcent ftate of the voluntary mufcles, when 

 they are not excited by the influence of the brain ; and the 

 contraftion, by means of which this organ expels its contents, 

 can be co:r.pared only to the exertion of thofe mufcles. On 

 the other hand, the contratWity of the uterus is independent 

 of the cerebral influence, and its exercife is abfolutely invo- 

 luntary ; this circumftance particularly characterizes irrita- 

 bility in thofe organs which poilefs it in the moft remarkable 

 degree, as the heart. Like the latter power, it may be fym- 

 pathetic«lly roufed, when the aetion of the uterus is fuf- 

 pended during or after parturition ; and it continues for 

 fome time after apparent general death. 



The attention of phyfiulogift.s has been much occupied in 

 inveftigating the immediate caufe of parturition ; that is, 

 the caule which calls into attion the contraftile power of the 

 uterus at the end of utcro-geftation. Many adopt the 

 following explanation. They admit a fpecieM of oppofition 

 between the body and neck of the uterus, during geftation. 



Phvfwlogy of the Female Organs of Generation. 



Puberty mid Menjlruat'wn. — From the uterus of every 

 healthy woman (at leaft with very rare exceptions) who it 

 not pregnant, or who does not give fuck, there is a difcliarge 

 of blood at certain periods, from the time of puberty to the 

 approach of old age (during a period in general of about 

 30 years) ; whicli, from the periods or returns of the dii- 

 chavge, is called the menfes or catamenia, and, from the ge- 

 neral regularity of its appearance, is termed in French les 

 regies. The commencement of menftruation is coeval with 

 that fignal revolution in the female conllitution, which in- 

 dicates the power of executing the generative funftion?, and 

 may be regarded as the developcment of the fexual life. It is 

 therefore one of thofe circumftances which, taken altogether, 

 mark the period of puberty in females. At the fame time 

 their complexion is improved, their countenance is more ex- 

 prefiive and animated, thuir attitudes graceful, and their 

 converfation more inteUigent and agreeable ; the tone of their 

 voice becomes more harmonious, their Vvhole frame, but 

 particulaily the breafts, are expanded and enlarged," and. 



the refiftance of the latter overcoming the tendency of the their minds are no longer engaged in childKh puriuits and 



amufenients. Thefe phenomena have been deicribed very 

 elegan'Iy by Harvey i " nee minus notum eft, quanta vir- 

 gmi akeratio contingat, increfcente prinuim et tepefacto 

 utero ; pubcfcit nempe, coloratior evadit, mammts protube- 

 rant, pulchrior vuhus renldet, fplendent oculi, vox canora, 

 inccOus, gcftus, fermo, omnia decora fiunt." 



The whole human race is fubject to this law, and the ac- 

 counts of fome travellers, fta'-ing that the Brafdian or Sa- 



former to contract. As the neck is gradually obliterated, 

 its oppofition is diminiflied, and it then gives way to the con- 

 tradtions of the body and fundus. Againll this explanation 

 ■we may urge that the fuppofed ftruggle between two op- 

 pofing forces is purely hypothetical, that there is no evidence 

 «f any contraction or attempt at it during pregnancy, and 

 that it comes on quite fuddenly at the expiration of the 

 term. It i.^ this fudden exercife of the contrattile power, at 



the end of the ninth, mouth in die human fpecies, that marks moied women are exempt, have not been coulirmed by more 



recent 



