ra 
THE VETERINARY SCIKHCE 
II. THE FEMALE. 
The female genital organs, or organs of the mare, are 
very different from those of the horse. They are known as 
follows: The ovaries, the fallopian tubes, or the tubes which 
carry the ovum from the ovaries to the uterus or womb, the 
uterus or womb, the vagina, and the vulva. 
9. The Ovaries. — The ovaries in the mare correspond to 
the testicles in. the horse. Each is about the size of a pigeon's 
egg, and resembles it much in shape. They are held in place by 
ligaments, and at the back part are provided with tubes leading 
from them called the fallopian tubes. The ovaries secrete the 
ovum or egg. This is a very minute body, which when 
examined under the microscope is found to be only l-150th 
of an inch in diameter. 
10. The Fallopian Tubes. — The fallopian tubes are two 
canals, one on each side. They pass backward and upward, 
and enter into the front part of the uterus or womb. These 
small tubes are simply used to carry the ovum or egg up 
from the ovaries and empty it into the womb or uterus. 
11. The Uterus or Womb. — The uterus or womb is a 
muscular sac situated in the hip cavity, bounded above by the 
rectum, below by the bladder, and on either side by the walls of 
the hip cavity. It is divided into what is known as a body and a 
neck. The body of the womb is very small, being only about 
four to six inches in length and a couple of inches in diameter 
when the animal is not pregnant. Near the front end, at the 
upper side, there are openings by which the ovum enters. When 
the animal becomes pregnant, the body of the womb becomes 
enlarged and passes forward and to the left side of the belly 
or abdominal cavity. It continues to enlarge as the time of 
pregnancy passes on, until the foetus, or young, has attained 
its full size. After the mare has had her young the womb 
begins to get smaller until it attains its natural size again. 
The womb is very largely supplied with blood vessels and 
nerves. This is especially so when the animal is pregnant, as 
it takes a large amount of blood to nourish the foetus, or 
young animal, before birth. It is made up of three coats. 
The inner is called mucous membrane, and in the mare, while 
pregnant, is covered with numerous small processes about 
the size of peas, to which the placenta or cleaning of the foal 
is attached. The muscular coat is next to that of the mucous 
coat, and lies between the outer and inner coats of the womb. 
