CHAPTER II.
FEMALE ORGANS OF GENERATION.
Internal and external.—Ovaria.—Ovum.—Corpus luteum.—Fallopian tubes.—Uterus.—Vagina.—Hymen.—Clitoris.—Nymphæ.—Labia.
The female organs of generation have been usually classed by the English authors under the two heads of internal and external; a similar arrangement has also been followed by the Continental writers, but with the advantage of using distinctive terms which are more expressive of their peculiar functions, viz. the formative and copulative organs. Under the first are included the ovaria, Fallopian tubes, and uterus: under the second, the vagina and external parts. We propose to give a short description of these in the unimpregnated state, and then to describe the changes which they present during pregnancy, labour, and the puerperal condition. In point of situation and arrangement they bear a considerable resemblance to the generative organs in the male, being situated at the lower portion of the trunk, and arranged in symmetrical order, so that they either occur in pairs, one on each side the median line of the body, or singly, being equally divided by it throughout their whole length. Although there is in many points considerable difference between the male and female organs, still there is sufficient resemblance to entitle them to be considered as being formed upon the same fundamental type, a resemblance which is seen still more strikingly in the early periods of fœtal life. They differ essentially from all the other organs of the system, being in activity during a portion of a woman’s life only, and then only at intervals.
Ovaria. The ovaries are situated in the upper part of the cavity of the pelvis, one on each side, near to the uterus, to which they are merely attached by a ligament (the ligamentum ovarii) which is a portion of that duplicature of the peritoneum which connects the uterus to the pelvis, and is known by the name of ligamentum latum, or broad ligament.
They are of an oval figure; their anterior and posterior surface is convex, the superior margin is also convex, while their lower edge is straight or somewhat concave: towards their inner and outer extremities they become thinner.
Their external surface in the virgin state is usually smooth, but in advanced age they become uneven and shrivelled; when fully developed they are about an inch and a half in length: their greatest breadth, which is at that portion of the ovary which is farthest from the uterus, is half an inch; their thickness is somewhat less.
