OBSTETRICS 



LECTURE LIII 



OBSTETRICS 



Obstetrics is the science which deals with the birth of young 

 animals. The female organs studied in obstetrics are: ovaries, 

 Fallopian tubes, vagina, and uterus. 



Ovaries. — These are two small, more or less flattened, spheri- 

 cal organs, suspended in the front part of the broad ligament 

 (see uterus) in the sublumbar region. Their function is to 

 develop, mature, and discharge the ovules or eggs. 



Fallopian tubes. — 

 Two slender tubes con- 

 sisting of mucous, 

 muscular, and serous 

 coats, the mucous mem- 

 brane being contin- 

 uous with that of the 

 uterus. They connect 

 the ovaries, one on each 

 side, with the horns of 

 the uterus. The 

 ovules or eggs pass 

 through these tubes 

 on their way to the 

 uterus. 



Uterus (womb). — 

 The uterus is a muscu- 

 lar sack small in non- 

 pregnant animals and very large in pregnant animals — located 

 partly in the pelvic cavity and partly in the abdominal cavity. 

 Structure. — The uterus consists of three layers or coats: (a) 

 outer or peritoneal; (b) middle, muscular; (c) inner, mucous. 

 The outer (a) is the thin, delicate, glistening membrane, the 

 peritoneum, which lines the entire abdominal cavity and covers 

 with another layer every organ within that cavity. 

 The middle coat ( b ) is composed of two distinct sets of muscle 



254 



Generative Organs of the Maee. 



1, ovaries; 2, Fallopian tubes; 6, horn of 

 uterus intact; 7, horn of uterus laid open; 8, 

 body of uterus; 9, broad ligament; 10, cervix 

 or neck of the uterus; 13, outlet of the ure- 

 thra. 



