Plain Talks on Avoided Subjects

by Henry N. Guernsey

In the creation of the world and all that therein is, we should consider it an axiom that “Everything was created for use.” All individual substances, or beings, that come to our notice bear certain relations to one another, have connection one with another, and are dependent upon and useful to each other; and nothing could possibly exist or subsist without this co-relation: connection with and use to each other. This is a law which needs only a little reflection to be accepted as a truth in every particular—in the greatest as well as in the least created form. This is more plainly seen in the animal kingdom than in the mineral or vegetable, because its members associate and finally become conjoined in pairs. Man and woman, who represent the crown and glory of all created beings, in whom are embodied all the lower orders, were and are still created to associate in pairs—each created for the other, the one to help the other; the two to love and to belong to one another. This principle, fully carried out, justifies and shows the necessity for the creation of man and woman precisely as they are, having bodies, parts and passions, will and understanding. It is my intention in the following pages to explain the relations existing between the sexes, for the purpose of showing that the greatest happiness to the human race will be found in living a life in full accord with these relations. In order that the subject may be fully understood, let us examine the physical development of man and woman in detail, particularizing the different organs of the body as they appear in their order of formation, from the very inmost or beginning, to the ultimate or end, in their respective natures.

Ever since the primal creation of man and woman, the human race has been perpetuated by a series of births. Children have been conceived in harmony with the natural order of events, in such matters, and have been born boys and girls. A boy is a boy to all intents and purposes from his very conception, from the very earliest moment of his being; begotten by his father he is a boy in embryo within the ovule of his mother. The converse is true of the opposite sex. At this very early age of reproduction the embryo has all the elements of the future man or woman, mentally and physically, even before any form becomes apparent; and so small is the human being at the earliest stage of its existence that no material change is observable between the ovule that contains the product of conception and a fully developed ovule unimpregnated.[A]

It is about twelve days after conception before the impregnated ovule, which undergoes many changes during this time, makes its escape from the ovary where it became impregnated and enters one of the Fallopian tubes, thence gradually descending into the cavity of the womb. Here it begins to mature and become fitted for its birth into the outer world. Soon now the embryo (for such it is called at this early stage) begins to assume form. The first indication of formation that it is possible to discover, even by the help of the microscope, consists of an oblong figure, obtuse at one extremity, swollen in the middle, blunt-pointed at the other extremity. The rudimentary embryo is slightly curved forward, is of a grayish white color, of a gelatinous consistence, from two to four lines long and weighs one or two grains. A slight depression representing the neck, enables us to distinguish the head; the body is marked by a swollen centre, but there are as yet no traces of the extremities. So much can be observed about the end of the third week after conception.

At about the fifth week the embryo presents more distinctions. The head is very large in proportion to the rest of the body, the eyes are represented by two black spots, and the upper extremities by small protuberances on the sides of the trunk. The embryo at this stage is nearly two-thirds of an inch in length and weighs about fifteen grains. The lower extremities now begin to appear in the shape of two minute rounded tubercles. Till about this time a straight artery has been observed to beat with the regularity of the pulse; but now it appears doubled somewhat into the shape of an adult heart, although as yet it has but one auricle and one ventricle. As time advances we find the perfect heart with its two ventricles and two auricles, all developed from the original straight artery. At this period the lungs appear to exist in five or six different lobes and we can barely distinguish the bronchial tubes; about the same time the ears and face are distinctly outlined, and after awhile the nose is also faintly and imperfectly perceived.

At about the seventh week a little bony deposit is found in the lower jaw. The kidneys now begin to be formed, and a little later the genital organs. The embryo averages one inch in length.

At two months the rudiments of the extremities become more prominent. The forearm and hand can be distinguished but not the arm above the elbow; the hand is larger than the forearm, but is not supplied with fingers. The sex cannot yet be determined. The length of the embryo is from one inch and a half to two inches, and it weighs from three to five drachms. The eyes are discernible, but still uncovered by the rudimentary lids. The nose forms an obtuse eminence, the nostrils are rounded and separated, the mouth is gaping and the epidermis can be distinguished from the true skin.

At ten weeks the embryo is from one and a half to two and a half inches long, and its weight is from one ounce to an ounce and a half, the eyelids are more developed and descend in front of the eyes; the mouth begins to be closed by the development of the lips. The walls of the chest are more completely formed, so that it is no longer possible to see the movements of the heart. The fingers become distinct and the toes appear as small projections webbed together like a frog's foot. At about this period the sexual organs show their development as follows: On each side of the urinary locality an oblong fold becomes distinguishable; in course of progress if these folds remain separate, a little tubercle forms in the anterior commissure which becomes the clitoris; the nymphæ develop, the urethra forms between them, and the female sex is determined. If, on the other hand, these folds unite into a rounded projection the scrotum is formed, the little tubercle above becomes the penis and hence the male sex. The testicles forming within the body, descend later into the scrotum, and organs similar to them, their counterparts, form in the female and are called ovaries. These ovaries are found attached to an organ called the womb, and this again is united with the vagina, which leads downwards and outwards between the labia majora.[B]

At the end of the third month the weight of the embryo is from three to four ounces and its length from four to five inches, the eyeballs are seen through the lids, the pupils of the eyes are discernible, the forehead, nose and lips can be clearly distinguished. The finger nails resemble thin membranous plates, the skin shows more firmness, but is still rosy-hued, thin and transparent. The sex can now be fully determined.

At the end of the fourth month the product of conception is no longer called an embryo, but a fœtus. The body is from six to eight inches in length and weighs six or seven ounces. A few little white hairs are seen scattered over the scalp. The development of the face is still imperfect. The eyes are now closed by their lids, the nostrils are well-formed, the mouth is shut in by the lips and the sex is still more sharply defined. The tongue may be observed far back in the mouth, and the lower part of the face is rounded off by what a little later will be a well-formed chin. The movements of the fœtus are by this time plainly felt by the mother, and if born at this time it may live several months.

At the end of the fifth month the body of the fœtus is from seven to nine inches long and weighs from eight to eleven ounces. The skin has a fairer appearance and more consistence; the eyes can no longer be distinguished through the lids, owing to the increased thickness of the latter. The head, heart and kidneys are large and well developed. At the end of the sixth month the fœtus is from eleven to twelve and a half inches in length, and weighs about sixteen ounces, more or less. The hair upon the scalp is thicker and longer, the eyes remain closed, and very delicate hairs may be seen upon the margins of the eye-lids and upon the eye-brows. The nails are solid, the scrotum small and empty, the surface of the skin appears wrinkled but the dermis may be distinguished from the epidermis. The liver is large and red, and the gall-bladder contains fluid.