PART I
ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
CHAPTER I. ANATOMY OF THE FEMALE PELVIS AND GENERATIVE ORGANS. Normal Female Pelvis. Pelvimetry. Female Organs of Reproduction. Internal Genitalia. Uterus. Fallopian Tubes. Ovaries. Vagina. Bladder. Rectum. External Genitalia. Mons Veneris. Labia Majora. Labia Minora. Vestibule. Vaginal Opening. Fossa Navicularis. Bartholin Glands. Perineum. Breasts.
CHAPTER II. PHYSIOLOGY. Puberty. Ovulation. Menstruation. Modifications of Menstruation. Menopause.
CHAPTER I
ANATOMY OF THE FEMALE PELVIS AND GENERATIVE ORGANS
NORMAL FEMALE PELVIS
The present broad knowledge of the anatomy of the female pelvis has resulted in an enormous reduction in death and injury among obstetrical patients and their babies.
This knowledge of the pelvic anatomy, relating as it does, to both normal and malformed pelves, has made possible a system of taking measurements, termed pelvimetry, which gives the obstetrician a fair idea of the size and shape of his patient’s pelvis. Such information, coupled with observations upon the size of the child’s head, gives a foundation upon which to base some expectation of the ease or difficulty with which the approaching delivery is likely to be accomplished.
Since each patient’s pelvic measurements are considered from the standpoint of their comparison with normal dimensions, it is manifestly important that the obstetrical nurse have a clear idea of the structure of the normal female pelvis, and also of its commonest variations.
Viewed in its entirety, the pelvis is an irregularly constructed, two-storied, bony cavity, or canal, situated below and supporting the movable parts of the spinal column, and resting upon the femora or thigh bones. (Fig. [1], A. and B.).
Four bones enter into the construction of the pelvis: the two hip bones or ossa innominata, on the sides and in front with the sacrum and coccyx behind.